WG Magazine September 2018

SEPTEMBER WG MAGAZINE 2018

SANTIAGO LASTRA

NOMAD MEXICAN CHEF

HEINZ BECK

CULINARY GENIUS

TERESA CUTTER

THE HEALTHY CHEF

JAMES OAKLEY

BALANCE OF FLAVOURS

BALAZS ENZSOL

SWEET THINGS IN LIFE www.wgmagazines.com

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THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO

IT’S ALL ITALIAN...

FROM ITALY & AROUND THE WORLD!

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info@extraordinaryitalian.com I www.extraordinaryitalian.com

AUGUST WG MAGAZINE 2018

LUCA FANTIN

CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN

NIKO ROMITO

LOTHAR PEHL

GLOBAL ORIENTED HOTELIER www.extraordinaryitalian.com

A SELF-TAUGHT CHEF

ENRICO BARONETTO

AT THE DORCHESTER WG September 2018 -

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Contemporary Italian cuisine by

World Renowned Three Michelin Star Chef Heinz Beck

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For reservations call +971 4 8182 155 | +971 4 818 2222 | Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah | www.waldorfastoria.com/Dubai

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Good taste isn’t expensive

S P A C E S

F O R

B E A U T I F U L

L I V I N G

conceptplus INTERIOR DESIGN

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Suite 214, Hamsa (A) Office Tower, Za’beel Road Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P.O.Box 300450, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 3705269 I Fax: +971 4 2947442 E-mail : info@conceptplusstyle.com I osama@conceptplusstyle.com - WG September 2018 www.conceptplusstyle.com

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Jean-Georges Dubai showcases a comfortable indoor layout with a jade, cozy garden.

While providing a fine atmosphere of an outdoor vivid lounge and stunning interiors, Jean-Georges Dubai offers its guests the chance to enjoy multiple evenings with live entertainment, a Friday brunch with an exquisite menu created by 2 Michelin Star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten paired with impeccable service. The restaurant presents a warm ambiance that captures Dubai’s affinity throughout the day to uphold a late night.

JG Dubai is a preferred venue for many celebrities who have chosen it as a trendy destination to celebrate their events or simply to enjoy the exquisite dishes and service. Guests who have joined us in the past include key members of royal families in the UAE as well as international names such as Russell James, Franca Sozzani, Nargis Fakhri, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Dwight Yorke, and Christian Louboutin.

Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai

Book at +971 4 343 6118

info@jean-georges-dubai.com | www.jean-georges-dubai.com

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For more than 80 years, Bragard supports women and men who give the best of themselves everyday at work to ignite their client’s taste buds.

Combining tradition and inovation, professional workwear from Bragard gained unparalled reputation thanks to its quality and make the biggest names of the culinary and hospitaly world proud.

BRAGARD LLC OFFICE 604 BEDAIA BUILDING AL BARSHA 1 PO BOX 214338 DUBAI UAE Tel : +971 4 395 16 11 Fax : +971 4 395 16 12 fabien.firetto@bragard.com

www.bragard.com

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Set amid the storied arches of Chijmes, fine dining restaurant, Whitegrass paves the way for a renewed style of Modern Australian cuisine.

Featured in Asia's 50 Best Restaurant List 2018 and awarded one Michelin star 2017

For reservations visit our website at W W W. W H I T E G R A S S . C O M . S G

or email reservation@whitegrass.com.sg

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For enquiries phone - +65 6837 0402 30 Victoria St, #01-26/27 Chijmes, Singapore 187996

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AWARNESS IS FINE BUT ADVOCACY TAKES YOUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL info@wgkonnect.com

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‫ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﺑﻴﺎت ﻫﻮ اﻟﺠﻤﻊ ﺑني اﻟﻄﻌﺎم واﳌﻮﺳﻴﻘﻰ ﰲ أﺟﻮاء ﻣﺜﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻣام ﻳﺠﻌﻠﻬﺎ ﺗﺠﺮﺑﺔ ﻣﺜﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﰲ‬ ‫ﻟﺬﻳﺬ اﳌﺬاق اﻷﻃﺒﺎق اﻟﻠﺒﻨﺎﻧﻴﺔ اﻷﺻﻴﻠﺔ وﻟﺬﻳﺬ‬.

The concept of Abyat is to combine food and music in the perfect ambiance making it the ultimate ex�erience in savouring authentic and flavorf�l Lebanese dishes.

‫ﺳﺎﻋﺎت اﻟﻌﻤﻞ‬

‫ﻣﻦ اﻷﺣﺪ إﱃ اﻟﺨﻤﻴﺲ‬

Sunday to Thursday 12pm to 1am

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OPENING HOURS

‫اﻟﺠﻤﻌﺔ واﻟﺴﺒﺖ‬

Friday - Saturday 12pm to 2am

Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah, Shoreline Apartments 10 For Reservation Call : 04 5588 428 info@abyatdubai.com, www.abyatdubai.com - WG September 2018 Abyat-DXB

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DISCOVER FIJI WATER.

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Simply Italian brings to Dubai, the ultimate Italian experience, exploring the superior culinary skills with mouthwatering dishes. With a vibrant & colorful terrace, Simply Italian offers a charming atmosphere while dining by the beach.

Opening Hours

Sunday to Thursday : 12pm to 1am | Friday to Saturday : 12pm to 2am

Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah, Shoreline Apartments 10 For Reservation Call : 04 55 88 354 info@simplyitaliandubai.com | www.simplyitaliandubai.com SimplyItalianDubai

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simplyitaliandxb

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Culinary Arts can give new life to children... we make it our mission to identify talented, underprivileged children with culinary ambitions and provide opportunities that otherwise would have been beyond their reach‌

Grant MacPherson

WO’GOA Foundation Ambassador An inspirer, innovator and perfectionist - Grant encompasses all the qualities that deserving children can glean from a role model!

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The Pearl WG-September 2018Australia Martin- Benn Sepia, Sydney,

partnered with SKD ACADEMY the culinary institute in the Philippines

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THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

The perfect destination for authentic Italian cuisine overlooking the Dubai Fountain and full views of the Burj Khalifa SUNDAY - THURSDAY 12 pm - 12:00 am info@Serafinadubai.com | www.serafinadubai.com SerafinaDubai serafinadxb

FRIDAY - SATURDAY 11 am - 1:00 am

BOOK NOW! CALL 04 363 8447

AT SERAFINA SOUK AL BAHAR, DOWN TOWN DUBAI

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Real Madrid Café is a space where the passion for Real Madrid, football and socializing becomes one.

With two levels and two massive screens, Real Madrid Café, The Beach, JBR is the ultimate hangout for live matches while enjoying the beachfront location. Offering all-time comfort food favorites like burgers & wings, a wide selection of creative mocktails and shisha flavors, Real Madrid Café creates the perfect setting for Madridistas and sports enthusiasts a-like to gather and support their teams.

The extensive range of Real Madrid merchandise, including over 40 exclusively signed

pieces of memorabilia, ensures to give all shoppers and diners the ultimate football experience. Real Madrid Café also hosts a variety of events and is a popular place for birthday parties of all ages.

THE BEACH AT JBR, DUBAI U.A.E. TEL 04 277 5625 www.realmadridcafedubai.com realmadriddubai@ginzarestaurants.com

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SMOKED WG September 2018 -

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DUTY DUTYFREE FREE PRODUCTS PRODUCTS & & BONDED BONDED STORES STORES

5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides 2064Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus 5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides Tower, Towers, 2064 Cyprus Tel:+357 +35722210828 222 108 28 I I +44 +44 745 745 228 Tel: 22868 680202 www.brandhouse.uk.com www.brandhouse.uk.com

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“everyday I work in search of pure tastes and Monviso is clearly the superior mineral water choice for me” Chef Alfredo Russo THE TASTE OF PURITY CAPTURED IN A BOTTLE!

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Editor Feature Editor

Fabian deCastro Maria Lourdes Doug Singer

Contributors

Elisabete Ferreira Michael Hepworth Laura Pedrazzoli

Photography

Victoria Shashirin

FJMdesign WGkonnect Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

‘

WG™ is an online digital publication published by: Izzy Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Unit 14, Agnelo Colony, Kerant, Caranzalem, 403002 Goa, India Tel: +91(832) 2463234 Fax: +91(832) 2464201 sales@wgmagazines.com

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Company Registration Number U22100GA2011PTC006731

Identifying underprivileged children with culinary ambitions...

Marketing & Advertising Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: marketing@wgmagazines.com WG™ Beverly Hills Michael Hepworth 287 S.Robertson Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211 WG™ New York Doug Singer 404 East 66 Street, Suite 2E New York, NY 10065 E-mail: info@wgmagazines.com

©IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in WG™ digital publication do not necessarily reflect the views of IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. WG™ and IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or errors and do not accept responsibility for the advertising content.

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Cover Image Credit: SANTIAGO LASTRA LANGOSTINE TACOS PHOTO © OLIVIA WILLIAMSON

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Heinz Beck, the culinary genius has been awarded an honorary degree in “Naturopathy and Natural Bioenergy” for innovative and healthy cooking by the Public University of Arezzo.

The Master of gastronomy returns to London, Heinz brings some of my favorite dishes and, of course, new creations to enhance and valorize British produce at Beck at Brown’s.

The Healthy Chef - Teresa Cutter is one of Australia’s leading authority on healthy cooking, the founding director of The Healthy Chef functional food range that consists of organically sourced proteins, superfoods, teas and nutritional based wholefood products. Her main aim with The Healthy Chef is to get people cooking their own food and eating healthier, so everyone can live better lives filled with health and happiness.

The Nomad Mexican Chef - Santiago Lastra has been cooking for almost 14 years, in different restaurants around the globe and just trying to learn from some of the best. He has been traveling and cooking as a Nomad Chef, using a Mexican concepts and soul applied to local ingredients in aim to learn but also to share the idea that Mexican culture has a meaning of quality.

James Oakley, the Chef de Cuisine at Alibi – Wine Dine Be Social believes that food should not be over complicated in terms of flavour since it’s all about a balance and textures.

Experience Sweden’s best Scanian cuisine, featuring simple, sharp, natural flavors, as served by guest chef Mats Vollmer at Restaurant Ikarus during this month of September.

Balazs’ heart beats for the sweet things in life, the pastry chef at the Michelin-Starred restaurant Hoja Santa with Albert Adrià and he brings a little bit of himself to each of his dishes. A memory, a feeling, a taste that he carries with him.

The flavour of Taiwan with Constant Cheung, he highlights the purity of flavours with Taiwanese seasoning to western cuisine. A philosophy that consists of several concepts with using fresh, seasonal and local ingredients as possible; and being creative with showing his personal identity.

Inspired by Cape Town and South Africa, Veronica Canha-Hibbert’s food philosophy is largely based on the fact that she doesn’t like clutter. A very practical person who hates waste, her food needs to be minimalist - each item on the plate has a purpose, be it flavour or texture and it’s imperative that any item placed on the plate is perfectly prepared.

Oliver Truesdale-Jutras and Phoebe Oviedo decided to step out of their homeland to explore new opportunities, taking over Open Farm Community and to revitalize the beautiful Dempsey urban garden and restaurant.

Listen to experience but let no one take over your dream, over your inspiration… And once you get there, consider those who appear smaller and respect the greater, words by Elie Kiwondo. With great struggles, sacrifices and a whole lot of determination, Elie brings Kiwondo Private Sushi Chefs to Cape Town, the sushi chef on the block!

Bon Appétit

FdeCastro

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SEPTEMBER 2018

Lengua Mestiza

Inspired by a dish “Estofado” from Oaxaca, which is basically tongue cooked in a mole that doesn’t have any kind of aesthetic presentation, but is extremely delicious.

The traditional recipe is from the amazing cook Juana Amaya from Oaxaca. I called her to ask her about the ingredients and how to do it, and realized that a lot of them were European, so I decided to separate the two worlds (Mexico and Europe) by making a sauce with almonds, garlic and capers that would cover a very tender tongue and then the garnish with Mexican ingredients in the mole: grill tomato, crispy tortilla, plantain and chocolate. The dish is finished with parsley dust on one side and chocolate on the other side.

SANTIAGO LASTRA

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HINZ BECK... THE CULINARY GENIUS THE HEALTHY CHEF

CONTENTS

64 NOMAD MEXICAN CHEF

SANTIAGO LASTRA LENGUA MESTIZA PHOTO © MELISA STOKES

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A BALANCE OF FLAVORS

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SCANIAN DISHES

102

SWEET THINGS IN LIFE

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PAIRING INGREDIENTS WITH DIFFERENT TONES

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INSPIRED BY CAPE TOWN

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OPEN FARM COMMUNITY

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SUSHI IN SOUTH AFRICA

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HEINZ BECK

T

he most notable Master of gastronomy and a true pioneer of modern gastronomy. At first Heinz Beck’s desire was to be a painter, for the love he had for art but all his family opposed, so he decided to dedicate himself to a profession that could allow him to express his creativity. Since the beginning of his career, he has always been interested in food effects on the body and the right relationship between food and health. A dish can be tasty as well as be light and well balanced.

HEINZ BECK

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He fell in love with Italian cuisine as soon as he went to Rome, “Italian cuisine is one of the greatest in the world and it offers such a variety of excellent raw materials that you cannot exempt from experiencing with them in order to reconcile health and taste” says Heinz Beck.

A pivotal moment for Beck’s culinary development came in 1991, through an opportunity to join legendary Heinz Winkler, as Sous Chef at “Residenz”. This incarnation gave him a chance to further his culinary skills while working under of one of his heroes, and by gaining his ‘kuchenmeister’’ one of Germany’s most prestigious culinary certifications.

The experience with Heinz Winkler was so formative that he still considers him as his teacher as well as a friend to talk with about his dishes. He had been his Sous Chef for 5 years and got the opportunity to travel and meet different realities outside of Germany.

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PHOTO © INTERMEDIA JAPAN

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HEINZ BECK

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RED MULLET ‘SANDWICH’ WITH BLACK OLIVES AND TARRAGON PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

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“I am fond of all the dishes that I create, because there is a story behind each of them and every dish is the result of studies, test and constant development”

“Balance is in Mediterranean cuisine itself. Nature itself is a great source of influence. The seasonality of raw materials guides my choices in creating different menus.” Beck’s culinary creations is based on a unique interpretation of the modern kitchen that goes beyond his undisputed culinary talent, with the utmost attention as he thoughtfully curates ingredients and their transformation into highly innovative flavours, Heinz implements innovative techniques to convey simple components into highly evocative dishes.

He always finds it difficult when asked “which is the best recipe you have created”, he goes on to say “It would be like asking a mother which is her favourite son. I am fond of all the dishes that I create, because there is a story behind each of them and every dish is the result of studies, test and constant development.” The basis of his idea of the kitchen is curiosity. For his recipes, he draws inspiration from everything that surrounds him and emotions that gives him what he observes.

VEGETABLE SALAD PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

Chef Beck’s profound understanding of the culinary culture is revealed in several of his books. ‘PASTA by Heinz Beck’ is his concepts of lightness and delicacy, as he goes beyond the classic tenets of Italian cooking and the extraordinary ability to enclose a ‘universe’ on a plate. He has always been fascinated by pasta, a complete food and basis of a Mediterranean diet. As it provides complex carbohydrates, energy to slower release, low glycaemic index, good source of protein and, finally, low in fat. Apart from its nutritional aspects, pasta makes room for creativity: for this reason after his first book “Heinz Beck”, he decided pasta was the perfect matter to write a book about.

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HEINZ BECK

“The University of Arezzo awarded Heinz Beck an honorary degree, he is very grateful and proud of his PhD”

Cookery to Heinz Beck is synonymous with evolution. Just think about how different types of cookery are varied over the time, reaching ever more complex forms. Cookery techniques encourages his creativity and allow him to create well balanced dishes without sacrificing taste. Creativity or Technique are both equally important to Heinz Beck. Creativity is a natural predisposition while technique is the result of studies. It is the harmony of the two that creates a great dish.

A polyhedral genius of our time, in which different attitudes evolve into different arts, Beck is multi-starred and widely awarded, with prizes including the Five and Six Star Diamond Award (both conferred by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences and the first in Italy to obtain such acknowledgement), the Gold Medal at the Foyer of Artists, an international prize awarded for the first and only time in 40 years to a chef, and the Knight of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany. Heinz Beck takes us through the moments when he received the International Prize of the Roman University “La Sapienza”, where for the first time in 30 years that this prize was conferred to a chef. “Many years passed since that day. I can still remember the excitement, the joy and surprise for this award as it came really unexpected” says Heinz Beck.

PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

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April 2018, Heinz Beck was invited by the Professor Adolfo Panfili, a famous Italian surgeon, founder and director of the first Italian Robotic Spine Center, with whom Heinz conducted a study regarding Glycemic Stability and Obesity almost 20 years ago. The invitation was to attend the International Conference on Integrated Oncology organized by the Public University of Arezzo. Unexpectedly, he really did not imagine anything, the University awarded him an honorary degree in “Naturopathy and Natural Bioenergy” for innovative and healthy cooking, which he is very grateful and proud of his PhD.

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PAN FRIED SWEETBREADS AND CRUNCHY AMARANTH & BEETROOT PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

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HEINZ BECK

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BLACKBERRY AND BASIL SORBET PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

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Passion for his job, his wife, his staff, his desire to make people eat well without scarifying taste.

These are the keys that moves the Master of gastronomy every day...

Beck at Brown’s comes to Mayfair on the heels of Beck’s hugely successful takeover of the space last December, as part of the hotel’s celebration of Italian conviviality where Heinz took up residence alongside drinks maestro Salvatore Calabrese. “I was very excited returning to London. I have brought some of my favorite dishes and, of course, new creations to enhance and valorize British produce. It’s an honor to have my own kitchen in such an illustrious hotel, with a new modern dining room that matches the color Italy and the heritage of Italian cooking.”

PHOTO - COURTESY OF BECK AT BROWN’S

The restaurant will have, at its epicenter, Heinz’s Italian pedigree, refined over his years running kitchens in Rome, in the lauded three Michelin-Starred La Pergola and Attimi, his recently opened more casual outpost. A focus on a light, healthy menu featuring the highest quality produce. Classic Italian dishes reinvented using the finest seasonal British ingredients, uniting Heinz’s inimitable style with the hotel’s British heritage and a careful balance of classic elegance and contemporary flair. A menu where he showcase the diversity of cooking techniques and creating a composition of flavours. “To get a perfect balance in the dish, we study a lot, continuously and we do a lot of test. If you just use raw materials, all the dishes would be very similar. I try to go beyond, studying and transforming my ideas into dishes with the help of innovative techniques” says Heinz Beck.

Passion for his job, his wife, his staff, his desire to make people eat well without scarifying taste. These are the keys that moves the Master of gastronomy every day. All his restaurants around the world is a testament to this genius - Heinz Beck.

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TERESA CUTTER

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PHOTO © STEPHEN MURRAY

WG MAGAZINE

The Healthy Chef

Growing up in a small country town called Bunbury in Western Australia, Teresa learned to love food when she was about four years old. She would watch her great aunt churn out babka (pound cake) and sernik (cheesecake) for their Polish family and friends and Teresa would help out in the kitchen – her great aunt would get her to sift the flour, prepare all the ingredients and shape piroshki (big ravioli) with her tiny fingers.

Everything was made from scratch and was both simple and nourishing.

That was the beginning of Teresa’s love of cooking.

Her aunt and uncle were her biggest inspirations when she was young as they were right into wholefoods and creating dishes that were straight from their garden and purely delicious. Her great uncle would re-use a tea bag several times before he threw it out. The day-old rye bread in the pantry was used to make a rye porridge for breakfast and it was as simple as breaking up chunks of bread into a bowl and pouring steaming hot milk and coffee over it. It tasted amazing! She still gets inspired by their simplicity. A few ingredients can become something spectacular.

At the age of fourteen, she got a part time weekend job at the local bakery. She was inspired by the bakers and all the wonderful creations that came out of the oven.

After leaving school, she trained as a chef for many years and worked under many great chefs in Perth.

TERESA CUTTER

“I got to know how to combine food and the importance of taste, seasonality and freshness when creating a recipe”

She gained an apprenticeship with executive chef Neal Jackson in his five star kitchen, and spent the next few years slaving over the proverbial stove – creating hot and cold entrees, main courses, desserts and cooking rich, French-style sauces and pastries. She was soon promoted to assistant pastry chef in the hotel kitchen and went on to win a gold medal at Salon Cullinaire for her creation of a magnificent Indonesian layer cake (German Tree Cake) that resembled pages in a book. The cake was decorated with chocolate fondant and marzipan to resemble an ancientstyle biblical masterpiece.

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TERESA CUTTER

“My main aim with The Healthy Chef is to get people cooking their own food and eating healthier, so everyone can live better lives filled with health and happiness”

Six years after qualifying as a chef, she started her own catering business. Teresa is also qualified as a personal trainer and studied nutrition at Deakin University which in turn helped her to develop simple healthy recipes that were purely delicious.

She was a fanatical kickboxer and came second in Australia for fitness figure (body sculpting), “it is magnificent how the food you eat and exercise you do can transform your health as well as the way you look”, says Cutter.

In 2006, she opened her first café in Sydney, Australia named ‘The Healthy Chef’. She wanted the café to emulate the feeling she experienced in her great aunt’s home. It was one of the first cafés in Sydney to offer healthy, plant-based, delicious food and appeal to the masses. Working crazy hours and suffering from adrenal burnout and exhaustion, she knew if she didn’t do something about her health she was not going to be around for too much longer. She sold the café in 2012 and got her health back on track and decided to use her knowledge, experience and passion for healthy food to create a range of nutrition products made from clean, organic and honest ingredients as well as a collection of cookbooks to help her own health as well as others on their wellness journey.

PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

As a regular columnist with the prestigious TIME magazine (USA) and the author of several international award winning cookbooks, Teresa is the founding director of The Healthy Chef functional food range that consists of organically sourced proteins, superfoods, teas and nutritional based wholefood products. The Healthy Chef is also a boutique media and publishing company producing quality healthy cookbooks for the Australian and worldwide market.

TURMERIC AND BLACK SESAME PORRIDGE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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WARM CHIA PORRIDGE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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TERESA CUTTER

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MARRAKESH CHICKEN KEBABS PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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VEGETABLE QUICHE + OATMEAL SHORTCRUST PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

Her goal is to get people cooking and eating healthier!

WG catches up with Australia’s leading authority on healthy cooking – Teresa Cutter…

WG: Your recipes inspire a commitment to healthy living… with the use of natural and organic products you highlight the purity of flavors in perfect harmony, whether it is gut friendly, gluten free, vegan or sugar free - how do you bring about this balance together on a plate?

Teresa Cutter: My main aim with The Healthy Chef is to get people cooking their own food and eating healthier, so everyone can live better lives filled with health and happiness.

There’s a sense of ‘food anxiety’ amongst people who are trying their best to do the right thing but they don’t know if they should go sugar-free, or paleo, or gluten-free, or dairyfree. I think it’s a complete waste of time to argue about what the perfect diet is because we are all so different and it is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. What works for you may not work for the next person.

We need to strip things back to the basics. I look back at my great aunt and uncle. They had it right. There’s fresh fruit and vegetables, there’s protein, and there’s healthy fats. Don’t overcomplicate things.

I believe getting the perfect harmony of flavors can just come from the use of very simple, fresh wholefood ingredients.

If you stick to using fresh food and focus on plant-based ingredients, you will often create dishes that are naturally

gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free. For instance, it’s amazing how you can transform the humble carrot or cauliflower into a delicious and nourishing soup just by adding some chopped onions or leek and seasoning it with sea salt and white pepper.

I don’t add any stocks to my soups. Instead, I use filtered water as a base, which in turn allows the natural flavors of the food to shine through. I love how the most delicious meals can be so easy, which is why I wrote my cookbook Purely Delicious. I wanted to show people that healthy cooking can be so simple and good for you.

When I was doing my training as a chef, Nouvelle Cuisine was at its prime. We focused on fresh, seasonal produce, cooked simply and plated immaculately. I recall one night as a second-year apprentice. I was assisting the French spoken sous chef with hot entrée and main course plating. I recall putting a prawn tail on the plate, in the wrong position and was welcomed by a tantrum and MERDE….you FU$##@ IT UP! And sheer frustration….. I never got that wrong again.

I worked 16 – 18 hour days and was married to my work, using every opportunity to learn from the other chefs and experiment. I became fed up with the complexity of many of the dishes and just craved the basic goodness that was in food naturally.

Today that’s how we approach our product development at The Healthy Chef for our range of functional foods such as protein and superfood blends – made from simple, wholefood ingredients that are designed to improve your health and wellbeing. Less is more and quality and taste of the ingredients are the main focus. I remember when I was designing my drinking chocolate….I sourced both raw cacao powder and rich dark cocoa powders from around the globe.

Each one had its own characteristic and flavor profile, some were rich and sophisticated, others were light and fragrant…. in the end I settled on two types of powders: a dark European style Dutch cocoa that was for a mature palate which I combined with Madagascan vanilla, as well as a lighter raw cacao version that I blended with roasted carob and Tahitian vanilla to bring out the floral aromatics.

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TERESA CUTTER

I’ll be inspired by walking through a farmers market...

WG: Take us through the foundation of healthy cooking…

Teresa Cutter: It’s really not as complicated as it’s made out to be. Just keep it simple - a few simple ingredients can become something spectacular. My recipes are mostly plant-based, simple, achievable, quick to make and they all work because they are tested time and time again in my test kitchen, on my wonderful staff who are also great cooks and on my husband Paul – who tells me honestly like it is….some are devoured…. some go in the bin and I start again. I always try to source fresh organically grown or ethically produced ingredients and I don’t compromise on quality and taste.

PHOTO © SITCHU SYDNEY

WG: Your culinary philosophy, take us through the process of creating a new recipe, the inspiration behind it…

Teresa Cutter: My philosophy has always been - keep it simple, keep it fresh and prepare it yourself. My recipes are designed for people who don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, but are looking for meals that are healthy with a little indulgence. The food isn’t rabbit food – its nourishing food that anyone can create and are deliciously good for you.

I’ll be inspired by walking through a farmers market and seeing crisp and leafy bundles of baby cos lettuce that I can drizzle with a vinaigrette made from Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar and good quality extra virgin olive oil.

I top them with delicate bundles of smoked ocean trout, capers and fine slices of red onion. I may see some gorgeous baby heirloom carrots that I roast in the oven and pile over a bed of citrus scented hummus, pomegranate molasses and pistachio.

BRAISED KALE WITH AVOCADO AND LEMON AROMATICS PHOTO © SITCHU SYDNEY

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DELICIOUS ASPARAGUS SALAD PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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PHOTO © LICHI PAN

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“I’m obsessive compulsive by nature and can easily become obsessed with ingredients”

WG: Ingredient obsessions - ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients…

Teresa Cutter: I’m obsessive compulsive by nature and can easily become obsessed with ingredients. I’m currently obsessed with oranges, cauliflower, broccoli and baby cos lettuce. I’ll be braising broccoli with onion until golden, then fold through some quality tomato passata with finely grated parmesan. Cauliflower can become the most magnificent soup or oven roasted and layered over labne or a silky almond tarator.

PHOTO © LICHI PAN

I love to use nuts such as almonds and macadamia. This is because I regularly make my own dairy free milks sweetened with a little vanilla and maple syrup. They are incredibly nourishing, full of magnesium, healthy fats and protein and are a great addition to making my high protein breakfast smoothies. Today I’ve just made the most magnificent orange cake for my next cookbook – it’s made from whole oranges, olive oil, almonds, vanilla and honey. I generously frosted it with maple yoghurt frosting and it was insanely good.

WG: Is there an ingredient that you weren’t able to master?

Teresa Cutter: The globe artichoke is one of those ingredients I never really use in my recipes. Mainly because it upsets my digestive system and my body doesn’t respond well to it. I cook with ingredients that my husband and I love to eat and enjoy.

PUMPKIN SALAD WITH TAHINI & POMEGRANATE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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“Fresh produce and the quality of your ingredients is paramount in any dish”

WG: Kitchen tools you particular enjoy using?

Teresa Cutter: High-speed blender - A quality high-speed blender is essential in any kitchen. It’s great for making nut milks, nut butters, ice-creams and raw desserts. I personally love my Vitamix because it mixes everything into a smooth, creamy texture every time.

The Healthy Chef Nut Milk Bag – Because I love making my own nut + seed milks, I use The Healthy Chef Nut Milk Bag made from a fine mesh, for the smoothest and creamiest milks that will take your smoothies to the next level.

VEGAN BANANA BREAD PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

My Victorinox Knives - I bought my first set of Victorinox Knives over 25 years ago when I started my chef’s apprenticeship and I still have them to this day! A good set of quality knives will last you a lifetime and are an absolute kitchen essential.

Victorinox chef’s knives are incredibly sharp and excellently balanced. If you get hold of one of these masterpieces, it will almost seem as if everything cuts itself.

WG: Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Teresa Cutter: Fresh produce and the quality of your ingredients is paramount in any dish. A tomato for example becomes a masterpiece when cut into chunks and drizzled with good quality olive oil then sprinkled with fleur-de-sel.

There’s nothing creative or technical about a sliced tomato and olive oil….but it will taste damn good….and even better with a side of buffalo mozzarella.

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PHOTO © SITCHU SYDNEY

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EARTH BURGERS PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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RAW CACAO FUDGE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

WG: Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

Teresa Cutter: My great aunt and uncle’s style of cooking has always been my biggest influence in the kitchen. I still get inspired by their simplicity. My aunt used to use butter in a lot of her baking recipes however as she got older mixing the butter with a wooden spoon became too difficult so she replaced the butter with olive oil. Olive oil has now become a key ingredient in a lot of my baking recipes and it’s so good for your health and wellbeing.

WG: Your earliest food memory, flavors from your childhood can you not live without…

Teresa Cutter: I have many dishes from my childhood that I love to make in my own home. I often make a Polish dish called bigos – but made a little healthier. It’s made from finely sliced cabbage, onion, sauerkraut and a little carrot. I bake it covered with tin foil with bay leaves and a little diced lardon for flavour. I also love baking Polish babka which was taught to me by my aunt growing up. It’s made with olive oil, wholemeal spelt, honey and orange zest and everyone loves eating it. This tea cake is perfect for any occasion and in my latest cookbook Healthy Baking.

PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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Chocolate Olive Oil Cake by Teresa Cutter Ingredients - Makes 1 cake

300 g (10 ½ oz / 3 cups) almond meal 60 g (2 oz / ½ cup) cocoa powder 2 ½ teaspoons gluten-free baking powder 4 organic eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 125 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) cold-pressed olive oil or macadamia nut oil 125 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) almond milk 125 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) organic maple syrup Dark Chocolate Ganache: 100 ml (3 fl oz / ¾ cup) organic cream or coconut cream 100 g (3 ½ oz) good quality 70 per cent dark eating chocolate, chopped Method For the Ganache: HEAT cream over low heat until it’s almost to the boil.

REMOVE from the heat and add chocolate.

SIT for 3 minutes.

STIR well until combined and chocolate has melted through the cream.

For the Cake: PREHEAT your oven to 160 C fan-forced (320 F).

COMBINE almond meal, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl.

ADD eggs, vanilla, olive oil, almond milk and maple syrup.

MIX well to form a smooth batter.

SPOON the batter into a lined 20 cm (8 inches) baking tin.

BAKE for 45 minutes or until just cooked through, or enough for it to be a little moist inside.

REMOVE from the oven and cool completely.

GARNISH with Dark Chocolate Ganache.

Notes and Inspiration: Make 2 separate cakes and sandwich together with extra Ganache.

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PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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HEALTHY CARROT CAKE WITH MAPLE YOGHURT FROSTING PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

WG: “Healthy Baking” and “Purely Delicious” are all about healthy cooking and a discovery of turning fresh ingredients into purely healthy food – what has been the inspiration behind these beautifully crafted books?

Teresa Cutter: It’s all about going back to basics, keeping things simple and using quality ingredients that are good for health and wellbeing.

“The recipes in my cookbooks Healthy Baking and Purely Delicious are made from pure, honest wholefoods and are designed for pleasure as well as nourishment for the body and soul”

Whether you are sugar free, gluten-free, vegan, paleo or wholefood based – there is something in these books for everyone.

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LEMON PASSIONFRUIT CHEESECAKE PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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BERRY RICOTTA MUFFINS PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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Passion and the love of cooking needs to be your driving force not the glory….

WG: Several awards and accolades… what keeps you motivated?

Teresa Cutter: I’m motivated by the numerous emails I receive every day via The Healthy Chef website. It’s wonderful helping so many people on their health and culinary journey. I also can’t sit still and I’m just fanatical about cooking…not a day goes by where I’m not in the kitchen.

WG: In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

Teresa Cutter: We are more focused than ever about ingredients and where it comes from and how it’s produced.

The tide is turning in a dramatic way and people are turning towards food to help restore their health and wellbeing.

Cuisine is becoming more local, seasonal and fresh. A good diet has always played a vital role in supporting health, which is why it is so important to think about what you put into your mouth every time you eat and drink. All chefs and cooks everywhere have the power to change the health of our society. We can be part of the solution, choosing better quality ingredients and designing healthier menus. The choices we make shape the choices we have!

PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

WG: Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Teresa Cutter: It’s definitely not glamorous working in the kitchen….Be prepared to work long hours and deal with the egos in the kitchen. It’s important to fit in time for your health and to eat healthily – Passion and the love of cooking needs to be your driving force not the glory….that’s the best advice I can give. www.thehealthychef.com ORANGE BLOSSOM CAKES PHOTO © PAUL CUTTER

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PHOTO © 15 KITCHEN & BAR - MOSCOW

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SANTIAGO LASTRA Nomad Mexcian Chef

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Langostine Taco

The inspiration of this dish comes from the north west of Mexico. People eat grilled lobsters with black beans and flour tortillas. Most of the time the lobster is dressed with a chipotle cream and serve with some limes.

My version here is using live langoustines from Scotland, sour kraut, sea buckthorn and smoked chili sauce.

For me a taco is not only a dish, it is a concept that has one goal, which is pleasure. Layers of flavour and textures that are carefully put together to achieve that. If it doesn’t give you that, then it is not a real taco.

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PHOTO Š OLIVIA WILLIAMSON

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“Using a Mexican concepts and soul applied to local ingredients in aim to learn but also to share the idea that Mexican culture has a meaning of quality”

H

is mother did not cook and neither did he grow up on a farm or had any real contact with nature or tradition during his childhood. His parents worked all the time and he comes from a middle low class family.

If he was lucky, he would eat a pizza on Tuesday or fried chicken on Fridays, otherwise it was just frozen food with a freeze dry mash potato.

This young Mexican has been cooking for almost 14 years, in different restaurants around the globe and just trying to learn from some of the best chefs in the world. Santiago has been traveling and cooking as a Nomad Chef, taking over restaurants, doing pop ups, talks and events in 21 countries, using a Mexican concepts and soul applied to local ingredients in aim to learn but also to share the idea that Mexican culture has a meaning of quality.

“I remember, I used to love to go to my classmate’s houses and eat traditional food that their families were cooking, but at that age there’s so many changes happening that you cannot realize what you really like. It was not until I was 15 that I cooked a recipe of a crab dip that was in the back of a box of Ritz cookies that which he found in the supermarket. I bought the ingredients and started cooking at home, everyone loved it. I then went and bought a can of tomato paste which had the recipe of a pasta dish. I then ventured out and brought a book on Italian cuisine and I cooked each and every recipe of that book. I fell in love with the idea of making people happy without having to be the centre of attention” adds Santiago.

WILD MUSHROOM TACO PHOTO © SERENDAL

It was a sad month when his father, grandmother and grandfather passed away, his family broke and he was just starting to work in an Italian restaurant. He use to bring food back home for his mum and brother, he still remembers them happily eating bread and pasta, the problems and sadness were all forgotten whiles they were eating. He loved working in the restaurant, the rush, the hard work, the craft, the aromas, the colours, and the idea that there was a whole new world to discover, so he decides to make this for the rest of his life. To make people happy and to perfect this beautiful craft at the same time.

SCALLOP, GRANO SARACCENO AND ROSA CANNINA PHOTO © FORAGIN ACADEMY

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Taste has an international language and of course there’s limits that different cultures have...

WG catches up Santiago Lastra, the Mexican Nomad Chef…

A creative Mexican concept - a fusion that combines local produce with a Mexican touch… a composition of flavours which is impeccably balanced…

The first dinner I did was in Sweden in January 2015 with a friend Alex Nietosvuori who was also a chef de partie like me. We cooked together in his hometown in Landskruna, Sweden. It was supposed to be a Mexican menu and while we were in the train, he told me “Santi by the way, we cannot get any of the ingredients that you order’, we were going to a small town in Sweden in the middle of winter. So we decided to use local ingredients with a Mexican concept and it was a success.

BARBACOA PHOTO © OLIVIA WILLIAMSON

I travel a lot doing dinners and sometimes 2 to 3 different countries in one week. At the beginning, I use to stay longer, trying to understand the local culture and the relationship that people have with food. Taste has an international language and of course there’s limits that different cultures have, like the level of spiciness or sweetness in the food, the fat, etc.

But good food is good food, and I try my best to understand where I go and what people like, to be able to find the best way to make them happy.

I don’t make traditional Mexican food, and I don’t travel with ingredients to all these places. I use the local ingredients and try to serve them to the people in a Mexican way. And people like that.

Regarding the flavors, If you have incredible ingredients (like seafood, meat, etc.) I think is important to make sauces and garnishes that are a bit less powerful or heavy, sometimes in Mexico the sauce is more important than the protein, which is fantastic, but it depends what is your main ingredient in the dish, you have to understand that when you compose it.

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FLAVORS OF GUACAMOLE PHOTO © SERENDAL

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BANCALAR STREET, TURKEY PHOTO © SERENDAL

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“Gastronomy is a profession that is very complex and endless, you have to try hard to have the whole picture”

You worked in some of the best kitchens, starting at the age of 15 at Cuernavaca in Mexico, you then went on to Mugaritz, Bror and Noma… what was the experience like, how did it help you as a chef and how did these chefs influence your style of cooking?

Since young, I have had the greatest opportunity to work with amazing chefs, and I think at the end to get to understand the philosophy of the people that you work for in a very professional level. It helps you grow and builds you more than all the recipes in the world. To be able to understand what is wrong and what is not.

NORDIC GRAINS PHOTO © NORDIC FOOD LAB, COPENAGHEN

Josefina Santacruz and Federico López are very good friends of mine and I got the chance to learn a lot about contemporary Mexican cuisine of that time, from there I went to work in Spain at Hotel Europa with Pilar Idoate, where I learnt a lot about how important tradition and taste is. Andoni Luis Aduriz, and the team of Mugaritz really taught me the meaning of respect for produce and the fact that there’s no boundaries in creativity. I then went to work in Copenhagen, doing research at the Nordic Food Lab with Roberto Flore. I learnt that you can apply your culture and your own techniques to local ingredients, I learnt a lot about wild food from Valeria Mosca at Wooding Foraging Academy and also with Tobyn Excell that worked for Miles Irving in England and it helped to understand the surroundings and seasons.

And finally with Rene, organizing Noma Mexico. I learned more about my country in that year than in all my life, learning how to handle big levels of responsibility and the real meaning of professionalism in detail. Working and meeting Rene and the team of Noma has been one the most life changing experiences of my life. Regarding the food, I learnt that flavours is about craft and passion and also that quality is about respect.

AT MUME, TAIPEI

David Iniesta, Edgar Hernandez, Gabriel Moro and other great Mexican chefs have been the greatest mentors to me.

They have taught me the importance of the craft of traditional and contemporary Mexican food.

School is very important, also having basic knowledge. I did study at culinary school in Culinario Coronado, Mexico and also at the Basque Culinary Centre. If you want to make a difference to perfect your craft, eat, travel and of course study, read books of history, culinary science. Gastronomy is a profession that is very complex and endless, you have to try hard to have the whole picture.

COD, JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES AND BUTTER MOLE PHOTO © CAROUSEL LONDON

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Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a new dish and inspiration…

My philosophy or style is to be able to transport people to my memories in Mexico using ingredients that people use locally where I am. But not only that, the main goal is just to make tasty food and make people have a good time. I believe that food has to be interesting and innovative but above everything it needs to give pleasure (that’s what make people come back). I am opening a restaurant next year in London and look forward to it.

“Inspiration can come from anywhere, a dish, ingredient, an experience, a concept, a landscape or even a flavour”

But normally the creative process starts with ingredients, and blending that with concepts that we traditionally have in Mexico, dress them and treat them in the best way possible to make them delicious.

MOSCOW MASTERCLASS

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TOSTADA OF SCALLOPS

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Ingredients that inspire, your favourite ingredients, and in your opinion what are the overrated ingredients?

I love ingredients, if you check my Instagram, every couple of days I post pictures of something that I like or have found.

Right now I’m obsessed with a cheese I tasted in Georgia, it’s made with cacao paste, a type of Pecorino that has this earthy notes of the cacao and fat, sweetness and bitterness are balanced perfectly. Also Meadow Sweet, Swedish Turnips, Pineapple Weed and Linden Leafs. Just waiting for the mushroom season as there is one called Beef Steak Mushroom which is amazing.

MUME,TEIPEI - TAIWANEESE PAPAYA AND DRY WILD FLOWERS

I cannot live without pistachio, garlic, yeast, achiote, dry chilli’s and sea food, I also use a lot of pickled and fermented vegetables and herbs depends where I am but in UK I use a lot of tarragon, alexander’s, dill, fennel and different types of cypress and pines to add to the citric flavours.

Overrated ingredients… I think probably some spices like Tonka bean, not because is not great, for example if you can find an alternative like sweet woodruff that has very similar notes and is much more healthy.

Also to understand how a luxury or expensive ingredients, the need to taste. Some ingredients when they get imported they lose quality and flavour. Caviar, truffles and natural wine are great but you have to understand what is a good caviar, good truffle or good natural wine otherwise you just paying a lot of money for just having fancy stuff in the menu, and a lot of people do that. For me the best thing to do is to use the local stuff.

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It is always about an idea that becomes a dream...

Special cooking techniques or equipment…

I love to use wood fire, smoking, charring and use my hands and strain sauces and paste trough the micro Tami.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Produce, doesn’t matter how skilled you are, if you have bad produce you will make bad food.

In 2015 you were selected as one the Best 10 Young Chefs by San Pellegrino young competition, the same year the Wooding Foraging Academy for the top 10 dishes by Le Monde France

by Maria Canabal… what was the feeling…

I was surprised because I’m Mexican and I was representing Denmark, it was a good experience. I love competitions and the environment in those events, as a young chef to be in competitions is something very important, even though I am still young I rather not to compete anymore against others, I challenge only myself every day.

What keeps you motivated?

It is always about an idea that becomes a dream more than the other way around. That is my fuel, where you want to go now, what you want to achieve, how can you make a difference and also very important what makes me try to be better every day and give my 100%? It is to be grateful with so many people that believed and keep believing in me and my country, the love and passion I have to be able to share the big meaning of quality that has and spread around the word. Also if you are motivated, it is win already, it doesn’t matter what the circumstance is. I believe we are in this life to become better versions of ourselves and to help others. If you make things a little bit better the next day and so on, the results will grow exponentially and you will have a good life.

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SWEDE AND SCOTISH TROUT CEVICHE

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TOSTADA DE SALAMI PHOTO ©

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I always want to chase new trends, I moved to France, they told me Spain’s Ferran Adrià was the future, so I moved to Spain and they told me Copenhagen was the future, I move there and they tell me that Mexico and LatinAmerican is the future...

Your earliest food memory and flavors from your childhood that you can’t live without…

My favorite dish ‘Huauzontles capeados rellenos de queso en caldillo de jitomate’, a dish I use to have on Sundays with my family in Tepoztlan 45 minutes from Mexico. Flavors of smoke, charred, corn, cream and cheese, chili, lime, mescal, tomato, avocado, tortillas, tacos and more tacos.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

This can be a very long answer, it is one of the things that is passionate to me… I always want to chase new trends, I moved to France when I was 18 to learn new French cuisine, I thought it was the future. They told me Spain’s Ferran Adrià was the future, so I moved to Spain and they told me Copenhagen was the future, I move there and was told that Mexico and Latin America is the future. I believe the future in trends is the past as soon as you know about it. The only way to chase innovation is try to make it yourself.

BUÑUELOS PHOTO © SANTIAGO LASTRA

Food has changed a lot in the past 20 years around the world, we live in an open world, linked by the internet and social networks, where you can see anything you want, information is in our hands anytime and there’s a lot of people trying to innovate food.

It is the truth to say that tradition was innovation at some point, but the important thing is to understand why that was made, what was the point to create a plate of pasta or a taco or a sushi, it was a humble though sometimes a very eccentric idea from a king, in reality the point was to make something delicious and to feed others. The future of gastronomy I think is about understanding why you want to create.

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LECHE QUEMADA PHOTO © 15 KITCHEN BAR - MOSCOW

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Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Don’t get in this career if you want to be rich and famous, because is not how it works, get into this career if you want to devote yourself and live for others to enjoy, get into this career if you love it at first sight, if you cannot stop thinking about it, if you want to learn everything, if you are humble and a hard worker.

I worked for 10 years without saying a word, put my head down and say ‘Yes Chef’, sometimes working for 14 to 18 hours a day, and I loved it, I love it every day. It is important to you to understand this and also believe that there’s no only one right answer.

“Dream Big - Work Hard Have Discipline - Perseverance Happiness - Optimism”

With these 6 things you can go anywhere you want, just be patient and if you have the need of expression follow your own path and believe in yourself. But if not, everything is fine, you can still make amazing things related to food.

Gastronomy is a big world and we are in this life to enjoy it. Do what you love!

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JAMES OAKLEY

B

orn in Ipswich, Suffolk, England and grew up in London.

James’ passion for food and cooking was inspired by his grandmother who lived in the Suffolk countryside for most of her life. His fondest childhood memories of his grandmothers cooking and her relationship with food, she helped him to truly understand where food comes from and the love required to create great tasting dishes. She use to cook and prepare all the food from scratch, baking bread and roasting joints of meat, from a very young age he began to cook with her.

“Many young children’s dream were either to be a fireman or a policeman, I had only dreamt of becoming a chef ” JAMES

OAKLEY

Balance of Flavours

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His grandmother used to have a Bramely apple tree in her garden, she would grow strawberries in summer, and kept chickens, so they always had great tasting, fresh free ranged eggs. As a family they would venture out into the woodlands and hedgerows to pick fresh wild ingredients, which was always very magical for James to understand the perfect environment and all the necessary ingredients of life for this wonderful wild produce.

James started his first part time job at the age of fourteen and to this day he has never done a day’s work outside the kitchen, it is the only job he has ever done. He use to work at weekends and after school as much as he could, in fact on one occasion he got himself in to trouble for cutting school to go to work. He started at the very bottom, washing pots and pans, however he made sure that he finished as quickly as possible so that he could watch the chefs and assist them with any job they would allow him to do. He started peeling onions and carrots and worked his way up, by the time he left school he was assisting on the pastry section.

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MISTY FOREST

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James trained in some of the best kitchens, with Gordon Ramsay at the Claridges and Jeremy Medley who was almost like a father figure… “I worked for Gordon Ramsay at his Claridges restaurant under head chef Mark Seargent, this was my first full time position upon leaving school at the age of sixteen. I feel very honoured to have had this opportunity, during this period of time Gordon Ramsay was in my opinion at the peak of his powers, cooking the best food in London and Mark Seargent was a fantastic chef to work under, passionate, dedicated, extremely talented and a super nice person whom I felt really cared about me and my well-being. Working here helped me to understand from the beginning the competiveness at the top level, the hard work and dedication required to make it” adds James.

“Jeremy Medley was almost like a father figure to me”, young, away from home, away from family, living in a new town, Jeremy Medley took James under his wing. He taught him, embedded into him the necessity to do things correctly or not to do them at all. Jeremy was very firm but invested so much of his time into James’ development; he ensured he was a part of everything and that during his time with him, he worked on and learnt every single section in the kitchen.

Both of these chefs and both of these kitchens have influenced James’ style of cooking massively and very much in a similar way, to treat ingredients with love, show the food with genuine heart felt respect and always take the time to do things correctly!

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“I believe it is important to understand the environment from which the ingredients come, what has made the ingredient flourish; with this depth of understanding I believe you can really get the best from each ingredient.”

James goes on to add “I would have to say two chefs whom are very closely connected, of course Jeremy Medley whom I will feel forever indebted to for all he has taught me and also Richard Allen whom for me is the greatest chef I have ever had the good fortune to work alongside.”

Interestingly both Richard and Jeremey, their final sous chef position prior to becoming head chefs themselves was at the Michelin-Starred Moody Goose restaurant in Bath, he did not know this when he first went to work with Richard but noticed certain similarities in the way they worked, not so much the style of food, there styles are quite different, but the way they worked.

CANADIAN LOBSTER, NORI PUREE, BERGARMOT GEL

James worked with Richard on two occasions at Tassili restaurant at the Grand Jersey and was part of his team when he gained his Michelin star. “Honestly, no man has deserved success more than Ritchie, when he gained his star in Tassili there were only four us in the kitchen of Tassili including Ritchie, we worked like well-oiled machines and he serves as an inspiration to me to this day.”

WG catches up with James Oakley…

Your cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance….

I believe it is important to understand the environment from which the ingredients come, what has made the ingredient flourish; with this depth of understanding I believe you can really get the best from each ingredient. Then it really comes down to using your palate and working with the flavours to ensure the correct amount of sweetness, acidity, various texture etc.

SCALLOP RAVIOLI, SUMMER TRUFFLE, CAVIAR

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LANGOUSTINE TORTELLINI

CONFIT TURBOT, RED WINE EMULSION, BLACK TERMITE MUSHROOM, ALMOND, FRESH SUMMER TRUFFLE

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FOIE GRA CHERRY

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LANGOUSTINE SASHIMI, KAVIARI CAVIAR, FUJI APPLE GEL

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I believe that food should not be over complicated in terms of flavour, I generally like to work with 3 to 4 key flavours one of which being the star and build the complexity by enhancing the natural flavours and displaying different techniques with the same animal or ingredient.

Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a dish, the inspiration…

My culinary philosophy goes far deeper than just good food.

When we create a dish using beef for example, we consider that this animal has made the ultimate sacrifice with its life, the very least we can do is show this animal respect. We must use all of our creativity and skill to utilize as much of the animal as possible, I am sincerely heartbroken by wastefulness.

We must be mindful of nature and protect this earth which has given us everything that we have and protect this for future generations, I don’t like the use of pesticides, and we only use sustainable seafood in the restaurant.

Then I like to consider texture; food should not only be interesting in flavour but also mouth feel, crispy textures, soft textures etc, it is also sometimes interesting to use temperature variations, pairing the very hot with the very cold for example.

Once I am happy with the balance of flavour and texture I would then consider the presentation, presentation serves as a first impression therefore the dish must be visually appealing. The presentation should not be over complicated and should spark intrigue.

“I believe that food should not be over complicated in terms of flavour”

Inspiration can come from anywhere really and creativity I believe is only limited by our own imaginations, one of my personal favourite dishes was inspired by looking down at the floor of the forest whilst foraging for wild mushrooms in the Pembrokeshire countryside, I looked down at the mist engulfed floor around me, took a deep breath of the scent of pine which surrounded us, listened to the sound of goats in the background and said to my friend that I would create a dish representing everything that I felt in that moment!

I am largely inspired by the ingredients, each ingredient is art in itself, varied in colour, texture, shape, largely influenced by nature and try to use the ingredients to represent their natural habitat or form, if I have foraged mushrooms from a misty forest, I will try to imitate the misty forest on the plate or if I have paired foie gras with cherry, I bring the ingredients together to imitate the cherry. I believe it is very exciting to receive a dish and see just one cherry only to cut into and find a rich foie gras parfait hidden or a seafood dish, using bright colours and abstract textures to create a dish which resembles a coral reef, especially living in Hong Kong where many become detached from nature, I believe it is important to bring a taste of nature into urban life.

ALIBI - WINE DINE SOCIAL

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JAMES OAKLEY

“I really enjoy working with various sea vegetables particularly seaweeds; I find that the umami is a beautiful natural flavour enhancement.”

Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredients, and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

I am inspired, perhaps obsessed with food of the future and exploring new ingredients and challenging perceptions in attempt to be more sustainable, I have therefore been experimenting a lot with insects, very much in the experimentation phase and not yet ready for our menu.

I really enjoy working with various sea vegetables particularly seaweeds; I find that the umami is a beautiful natural flavour enhancement.

I generally don’t tend to give up I am quite persistent, I try and try again. Some flavour combinations are challenging and I believe should not be forced however I would never give up on an ingredient entirely In your opinion, what would you say is an overrated ingredient?

Oyster, but just because I do not personally like them, more texture than actual flavour for me. I just simply do not understand why people generally tend to be so in love with oyster.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

I enjoy using the paco jet, and find it hard to imagine a modern kitchen operation without one, such a revolutionary piece of equipment in modern cuisine. Before the paco jet it was extremely difficult to achieve such smoothness with such viscosity, prior to the paco jet we always needed to add more liquid to blend things smooth of course affecting the flavour and texture.

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BEETROOT CURED SALMON, FROZEN BEETROOT, YUZU

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JAMES OAKLEY

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CURED LAMPUKI, WATERMELON, TOMOTO AND WILD FENNEL

WG MAGAZINE

My grandmother, her love and passion for home cooked food, cooking with her as a child has inspired me and still influences the way I cook today...

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

It’s a very difficult question to answer. I believe all are equally important. Produce I believe is the obvious answer of course if you start with fantastic, amazing produce it is far more likely that you will produce great dishes, of course the worlds very best products taste amazing, if I offer someone a beautiful piece of white truffle from Alba it is likely the reaction will be wow! But why come to the restaurant and pay triple the price, creative flavour pairings is the draw and of course technique to execute the creativity, great produce is no longer great if the chef sets fire to it!

Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

My grandmother, her love and passion for home cooked food and fresh home-grown and wild ingredients has inspired me for years, cooking with her as a child has inspired me and still influences the way I cook today.

Your earliest food memory, flavors from your childhood can you not live without…

Apple and Blackberry crumble is my earliest and fondest childhood memory, my grandmother used to have a bramley apple tree in her garden, we used to pick the apples as they dropped from the tree and go foraging in the hedgerows for blackberries. She would then make the most amazing buttery rich crumble and bake it in the oven, I still go weak in the knees for apple and black berry crumble.

SAIKYO MISO MARINATED BLACK COD

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JAMES OAKLEY

What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

The kitchen is my home, I have now spent the majority of my life in the kitchen and treasure every single moment of that time. My life is far from boring, every day is different, every challenge is different, I love the diversity of differing styles of cuisine, I have been blessed throughout my career to have worked in fine dining Michelin star restaurants, five star hotels, bistros, casual dining restaurants every environment different from the other with every experience helping me to become who I am today. Every day I am driven by the desire to improve upon yesterday, I feel I still have so much more to offer and so so so much more to achieve.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

Cuisine has changed massively, largely due to peoples lifestyles, I came up in kitchens during the era of fine dining, formal, polished service. Now I see people still want the same level of fine cuisine but in a less formal environment with more personal and relaxed service style.

I think it is such a shame that with today`s hectic lifestyles people rarely have the time to spend several hours on a truly memorable meal, however this is our challenge as chef`s, to deliver the quality in a way, environment which suits people’s needs, a challenge I embrace.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time‌ Really ensure you love food and cooking, it is not just a job, you will spend the majority of your life in a kitchen please ensure that it makes you happy. Work hard, very hard, you will stand on your feet for 12-16 hours per day every day.

Do all this and you will be part of the most rewarding, artistic family’s in the world, in my kitchens I like my team to be a family, we are there for each and I feel we genuinely care for one another.

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Every day I am driven by the desire to improve upon yesterday, I feel I still have so much more to offer and so so so much more to achieve...

STRAWBERRY AND TURKISH DELIGHT

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MATS VOLLMER

MATS VOLLMER

DELIGHTFULLY SCRUMPTIOUS SCANIAN DISHES

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TEXT HANGAR-7 AND WGKONNECT PHOTO © HELGE KIRCHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY / RED BULL HANGAR-7

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MATS VOLLMER

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M

ats Vollmer is descended from five generations of restaurateurs. The kitchen of his grandmother’s hostelry in Östarp was his culinary kindergarten where, from an early age and with her enthusiastic encouragement, he not only tasted but tried his hand at cooking the traditional delicacies of the Skåne region.

The convivial atmosphere of grandma’s hostelry etched itself indelibly on young Mats and he took the experiences, flavors and feelings, though with a modern touch and more refined cooking methods, as his role model when he turned his dream of opening a restaurant into reality in Malmö in the summer of 2011.

Prior to this Mats had embarked on a culinary journey that took him to a number of prestigious restaurants including Le Sommelier and Herman in Copenhagen in addition to a period at Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road before returning to Sweden. Several more years of culinary exploration followed until the opening of Vollmers restaurant in Malmö. It is described as “An intimate, elegant restaurant with charming, professional service, set in a pretty 19th century townhouse.”

This is where “The talented Mats Vollmer showcases some of the area’s finest seasonal ingredients in set 4, 6 or 8 course menus of intricate and elaborate modern dishes, which are innovative, perfectly balanced and full of flavor.”

In February 2017, the restaurant, which has been ranked among the best in Sweden for quite some time, became the first in Malmö to be awarded a second Michelin-star for its southern Swedish cuisine (Scanian).

Jari Vesivalo

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MATS VOLLMER

ECKART WITZIGMANN, MARTIN KLEIN AND MATS VOLLMER

“Mats is ultra-competitive and aims to be the best, while always putting the customer first”

The expertly crafted dishes which reflect the personal philosophy and talent of the chef and his team is evident in the distinct flavors and characteristics which marry local, carefully selected produce with modern cooking techniques to enhance its natural flavors, represent the region’s distinct seasons and take the Scanian cuisine to new heights.

Not surprisingly, the team behind Vollmers is thrilled, and Mats says, “This is so huge for me. I can’t even grasp it. I have worked so hard for this. It’s amazing to get two stars in a small town like Malmö. My deepest thanks to the team.

There are not many restaurants that have such a dedicated team. It’s absolutely phenomenal and further recognition that what I’m doing is right. The customer experience is always my top priority. I work hard every day to fill the restaurant with happy and loyal guests. Getting a second star in the Michelin Guide is fantastic. It means even more work. Even now the brain never gets a day off. There’s not a single thing you put in your mouth without the brain registering and analysing it.”

Mats is ultra-competitive and aims to be the best, while always putting the customer first. He hones his methods every day to achieve this, totally without compromise and with an unswerving focus on serving food that is closest to his own heart. Great food, without any fuss, using crockery that is custom made for every dish, the menu includes dishes such as cod served with kohlrabi and mustard; pointed cabbage, pork and sherry; beef, black radish and garlic; mussels, rhubarb and lemon thyme; raspberry, beetroot and cream.

For each dish, the Vollmers’ menu indicates the distance from the restaurant to the ingredients’ source.

Experience Sweden’s best Scanian cuisine, featuring simple, sharp, natural flavors, as served by guest chef Mats Vollmer at Restaurant Ikarus in September 2018.

MATS VOLLMER IN RESTAURANT IKARUS KITCHEN

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B

alazs’ heart beats for the sweet things in life. Realizing his passion late in life and before putting on the chef’s jacket, it was economics at university and after completing his sergeants training at the military academy he felt that there was something missing. He decided to take a break and moved to the UK to brush up on the language and to make a bit of money.

BALAZS ENZSOL

Sweet things in life!

PHOTO © WHITEKITCHEN

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He landed his first job as a dish washer in a gourmet restaurant and he was then determined to work his way up from the bottom in the restaurant world. He then made it to a commis and then went on to become the chef de partie. In 2009, he got his first job as the head chef at The Meadows in Stamford. He then moved to Austria and because his German skills weren’t great and he settled for a position as chef de partie.

It was by chance that he landed himself in the pastry section, which is where he found his true calling. Two years later Armin Leitged offered him a job as head pastry chef and having learnt the tools of the restaurant trade, it became clear that he wanted to focus on the pastry kitchen. He started attending various international patisserie courses, trying to learn all that he could about the sweetness in life and working with desserts has allowed him to travel the world, learning new taste and new techniques.

Two chefs have been really crucial to Balazs’ career, Armin Leitgeb and Ryan Clift from the Tippling Club. “I consider myself lucky to have worked with these guys, and no doubt they have shaped my style of cooking immensely” adds Balazs.

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BALAZS ENZSOL

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THE GRANNY SMITH

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THE SACHER

“I try to bring a little bit of myself to each of my dishes.

A memory, a feeling, a taste that I carry with me.”

Since 2012, Balazs has been chef de patisserie in France and Austria, and since the summer of 2016, he has been based in Barcelona, working at the one Michelin-Starred restaurant Hoja Santa with Albert Adrià. In the last years, the pastry chef extraordinaire has found the time to do master classes on a regular basis in Vienna, Budapest, London and Paris.

WG catches up with Balazs Enzsol…

You involve different elements to create a brilliant dish to surprise and stimulate the palate - how do you put it all together?

THE TANGERINE

I try to bring a little bit of myself to each of my dishes. A memory, a feeling, a taste that I carry with me. It’s hard to explain, but I don’t feel like every dessert needs to have every element like crunchiness, sponginess or acidity. I think if I followed a checklist like that, all my desserts would end up being the same.

What is the secret to a perfect dessert and your favourite flavour combinations?

I get asked this question a lot, especially at my master classes.

To me there really is no secret, all you need is imagination and tons of discipline. My favourite flavour combinations are tropical fruits with Indian spices.

The best recipe you ever created…

I think my latest favourite is the Granny Smith apple dessert.

Here you get the freshness and acidity of the pure apple flavour. This is part of a special theme of lactose and gluten free, low sugar desserts, I have done recently. Not all my desserts are like that, but I like to show that it doesn’t always take cream, eggs and sugar to create powerful flavours and desserts that still feel indulgent.

WHITE CHOCOLATE, BERRIES, VERRINES

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BALAZS ENZSOL

The next trend you see emerging in desserts…

I think there is a growing demand for lighter desserts, and definitely for lactose and gluten free options. And of course, the focus on natural ingredients is getting ever stronger. There’s still way too much food that’s over-processed and too much fruit that’s treated in all sorts of unnatural ways, for example so we can have it when it’s off season. People are going back to the natural ingredients, exploring the real flavours, and I couldn’t be happier with that trend.

Pairings your desserts and pastries with beverages…

Being from Hungary, one of the things I like to pair with is Aszú sweet wines. The wine-making technique is not far from what you see, for example Sauternes, but for me it has a certain balance and freshness that’s just unique, maybe due to our local grape varieties like Furmint. There’s a sweet component, but it brings an extra layer to the whole experience when the acidities of the wine and the dessert sort of bounce off each other.

Your culinary philosophy…

Taste and flavours are more important than the number of the components or techniques. As I mentioned before, I don’t have a checklist and I try not to overthink things. Bring out the flavours, stay true to what your ingredients have to offer.

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THE CIGAR

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“Taste and flavours are more important than the number of the components or techniques�

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BALAZS ENZSOL

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THE TROPICAL

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THE ‘RUBY’ FOREST ECLAIR

Obsession for ingredients…

I try not to get overly seduced by any single ingredient. However, what I do obsess over is finding new and exciting produce that I’m either not familiar with, or that you’d not normally see as part of a pastry chef’s toolbox. That’s a constant challenge, and I find this kind of exploration stimulates my creativity a lot. Having said that, I find it hard not to keep getting amazed by what you can do with chocolate.

Ingredients that inspire you, favourite ingredients you like working with, and ingredients that you’re unable to master…

“Many times, when I get to a new place, I find myself redoing my own recipes around the tastes prevalent in that area”

I travel a lot, and by far my biggest inspiration is to work with local chefs and to use their local ingredients.

Once you’ve had fresh mangosteen and cocoa beans in Bali, there’s no going back. These have to be my favourite things to cook with.

I’m not sure if there’s one particular ingredient, but I’ve had a ton of ideas that I had to leave behind, because they just didn’t work out the way I hoped they would. I think that’s one of the things you’ll have to except when you try to push yourself further.

THE TROPICAL

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BALAZS ENZSOL

THE DRAGONFLY

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

I would say creativity and vision. If you don’t have that, you end up sticking to tastes and techniques already within your safe zone, reproducing all the things that have been done before. Without creativity you might still make good desserts, but you will never make great ones.

Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

One of the key things for me, especially when I am developing new recipes, is music. Music sets the mood and somehow kick-starts my imagination. I owe a lot of my signature dishes to Depeche Mode.

What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

It’s exactly the same thing that motivated me in the beginning, and that will keep me going in the future: I want to keep learning and be better than I was yesterday. There’s a race on, but it’s with yourself, not with others.

THE FOREST

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THE DRAGONFLY

WG MAGAZINE

“Music sets the mood and somehow kick-starts my imagination.

I owe a lot of my signature dishes to Depeche Mode.”

RUBY CHOCOLATE AND CHERRY BOX CAKE

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BALAZS ENZSOL

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BACON AND ICE CREAM

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What do you do to stay on top of new cooking trends?

For me, the one key word is travelling! I am fortunate enough to do a lot of master classes all over the world, and even though I go somewhere to teach, I always end up learning just as much. In the second half of the year I will be in Singapore, Bali, Malaysia and then South America.

I love taking the opportunity to go back to the roots: Making my own chocolates, harvesting, fermenting, and grinding my own cocoa beans. In these wonderful places, I can produce my own coconut sugar; use fresh lime, cinnamon, lemongrass and so on. I have spent a lot of time in Bali, and the flavours there are just mind-blowing.

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BALAZS ENZSOL

THE EGG

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Don’t go into this because it’s a glamorous profession. Sure, it might be at times, but it’s also long work weeks and hours on end testing and developing your recipes, failing countless times before you get it right. You have to think that part is fun too. Otherwise I would say, get yourself a backpack and travel around the world as much as you can. Take on internships in as many places and you can, get to meet as many chefs and new people as you can. Be humble and open to learning new things. Suck up all the impressions, all the knowledge. Build on that.

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THE EGG

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FRUIT CAKE

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

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I

nspired by his mother who use to work in a restaurant, it was a decision that Constant made as young lad to be a chef. He remembers his childhood days, coming back from school where a delicious dinner was always waiting for him.

The kitchen was just like a magic room where his favorite foods came out from and he often imagined that one day that he could become the magician inside. Although his parents initially did not support his decision to work at a restaurant, as they understood it’s a very tiring job and not preferred by a general Asian family, he insisted and entered the industry.

A few years later, his interest grew towards cooking because it gave him a solid feeling that he could finish a product by himself and make customers smile and appreciate his dishes.

CONSTANT CHEUNG

Taiwanese touch to western cuisine...

Wanted the challenge and to be on a greater stage, he joined L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Hong Kong which kick started his fine dining career, and gradually he understood that cooking could be a form of art, a presentation of personal style and even a power to touch and motivate people. He decided he wanted to be a successful chef and dedicated to seek working experiences at different style of top restaurants around the world.

Working at some of the most prestigious kitchens and these chefs gave Constant a meaningful inspiration. He moved to Otte e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong where Bombana emphasized the use of the best ingredients, and he usually told them “simple is the best”. At Otte e Mezzo, they used the best truffle, the best caviar, the best meats and fish, even the best butter and olive oil. Constant was assigned to the meat station at Otte e Mezzo where he use to cook fish and sauce for his former employer at L’ Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

CONSTANT CHEUNG AND RESTAURANT OWNER JIMMY HUANG

JE kitchen was established by Jimmy Huang, his strong passions for the culinary art and restaurant industry got them listed in the 2018 first edition of the Taipei Michelin guide...

At this period, he established more extensive concepts and skills of dealing with main course of fine dining standards, and understood how good quality ingredients can influence the outcome of a dish. “Bombana is almost the kindest chef I‘ve ever seen. He was always smiling and willing to teach every staff in the kitchen, the skills and philosophy patiently, and this developed a harmonic atmosphere of the kitchen comparing to militarization of many other fine dining restaurants. This truly influenced my management concept and style” adds Constant.

SQUID, SESAME AND CORIANDER

CONSTANT CHEUNG AND JE KITCHEN STAFF

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The next destination was at Kokkeriet in Copenhagen with Morten Krogholm. Here it showed him some of the most emphasized nature care related concepts of Nordic cuisine culture such as zero waste, reducing food miles and recycling. He learned how Morten Krogholm implied those concepts to a single dish or the arrangement of the whole menu, such as using the different parts of a single produce in different dishes, saving the trimmed part of ingredients to do pickling or fermentation, and keeping the by-product of cooking process, for example, the whey from making yogurt, for next seasons menu. Another impressive thing was the collaboration with the staff. “We used to serve around 20 to up to 70 guests per night with a culinary team of 5 in a very small kitchen, which was almost an impossible mission at anyother fine dining restaurant. To finish the daily preps and service, I use to enter the kitchen at 10 am and leave around 2 am. I was so touched by the strong passion of the Kokkeriet team and this motivated them to present the best performance to the guests despite the insufficiency of hardware and space. It was a great inspiration and also a mind changer lifting the limit of mine.”

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LOBSTER BOHA AND BURRATA

WHITE CAULIFLOWER AND CLAM MAKAUY

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

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At AOC with Søren Selin, it was learning how to find ideas and develop creativity from nature, no matter the taste or presentation. The dish plating of Søren Selin is just like a reflection or emulation of nature scenes and produces which was a whole new exploration for him. He was impressed by the presentation of the restaurant’s signature dishes “Green Apple & Oyster” which used a whole root of kohlrabi and the flavor pairing of “Scallop with fermented Asparagus” which delicately paired umami and acidity. He used the skills and concept learnt from the restaurant’s famous dessert “Burnt Jerusalem Artichoke with Caramel and Hazelnut” to develop his personal signature dessert. In addition, he was a big fan of AOC’s former chef, Ronny Emborg, who he regards as one of the few chefs being able to combine techniques and personal styles perfectly. AOC was truly his eye opener which he learnt and experienced a new level of skills and profession, helping him to establish most of his current structure of culinary art at JE kitchen.

During Constant’s staging with Konstantin Filippou, he hailed Filippou as one of the most creative and versatile chefs, where Filippou enjoys developing dishes with exotic elements and combine ingredients beyond common expectation. He saw some very Asian style dishes, such as eel confit and chawanmushi which were strangers to western cuisine and this made him learn how to think outside the box and make a balance between creativity and popularity from the chef, which was helpful for building his own style. Filippou encouraged him to figure out his personal recognition and keep showing it to the culinary world and one day his efforts and talent will be seen. Constant will always remember these words and he has never stopped chasing his dream.

PIGEON WITH BLACK GARLIC

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

“When developing a dish, in aspect of tasting, Constant always tries to compose the flavor spectrum by pairing ingredients with different tones”

CRAB, APPLE AND CAMOMILE

He regards Joël Robuchon as his mentor. Constant adds “The most impressive thing to me was how Chef Robuchon respected and loved his job. What I’ve observed at his Hong Kong and Singapore restaurants is that, even being a famous chef who owned numerous restaurants around the world and countless honors, Mr. Robuchon would enter the kitchen very early in the morning to check every arrangement and taste the sauces or semi-finished products by himself during his routine visit. He emphasized everything needed to be done perfectly, while the demanding work flows and the requirements of highly accuracy executions made me established the most rigorous working attitude and adequate culinary skills. I feel I am really fortunate to have my first fine dining job experience at Joël Robuchon’s restaurant which gave me a solid foundation and has helped me be able to go further.”

Constant’s cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate… When developing a dish, in aspect of tasting, he always tries to compose the flavor spectrum by pairing ingredients with different tones, avoiding too much seasoning to highlight the essence of ingredients, and that’s the purity he emphasizes most on. To further elevate the whole dish to achieve a harmonic situation, he adds materials with different textures to the main ingredient to improve the mouth feel, as well as bring in the aroma, the third dimension of a dish’s structure, by a touch of herbs or smoking. One of his signature dish “Mussel, quinoa, thyme”, where he combines mussel meat with homemade mayonnaise and sprinkling the mussel essence made from mussel juice with 12 hours low temp extraction process without any salt and seasoning, while the quinoa and thyme brings the crunchy mouth feel and herbal aroma, is a good example of his definition of a perfect balance.

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BEEF, PORCINI AND MUSTARD SEEDS

BOTTARGA, POTATO AND LEEK

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

SHRIMP, SHISO AND GINGER

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SHRIMP, KOHLRABI AND CAVIAR

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Constant’s culinary philosophy consists of several concepts with using fresh, seasonal and local ingredients as possible.

Linking to spirits of environment friendly, such as reducing food miles, zero waste, and recycling; and being creative and showing personal identity. Not only making delicious foods but to be able to say why it makes a dish and what it means to him.

For instant a new dish and the inspiration behind it… “Squid, Sesame, Coriander” as an example to illustrate how he creates a new dish. As an Asian chef who is doing western cuisine, he thinks it’s important to imply oriental elements to amplify his personal identity and make differentiations on the worldwide culinary stage. Currently working at JE kitchen in Taiwan, which has amazing local produces and versatile diet culture. He wants to make a dish that represents his definition of “the flavor of Taiwan”, which has been a very popular issue of the culinary industry on the island. Because Taiwan has the most well-known night market cultures in the world, he decided to find inspirations from this, and finally choose “squid thick soup”, which is his favorite street food in Taiwan. How to not only make international eaters to percept the features of Taiwan, but also bring a refreshing dining experience to local customers.

JE KITCHEN

He was not simply going to apply general Taiwanese seasoning to western cuisine, or to deconstruct it and make it reassemble any local dish, yet he was looking to combine local ingredients with international elements to create an elevated edition of local foods that people are familiar with.

So he choose the squid from Penghu, a surrounding island of Taiwan, as the main ingredients of the dish. He kept some squid meat and pureed the rest of the parts, dehydrated to make squid crackers, which has concentrated squid flavor and a crispy mouth feel. For the part of soup, he used Japanese Kombu, dried squid to make a broth full of umami and added a touch of lemon juice to balance it. Serving it with some sesame puree, fried squid meat and coriander oil at the bottom of a bowl, covered with a squid crackers, and the hot broth poured in front of the guests to let them feel the aroma.

This new version of “squid thick soup” perfectly applied to his culinary philosophy. First, the idea was from food he loved, showing the respect to local culture and personal identity. Secondly, except Kombu, all ingredients were from Taiwan, especially the dried squid which is a very traditional Taiwanese preserved food, and every part of the fresh squid used in the dish, shows the spirit of zero waste. Finally, the dish made a connection to common local food with same main ingredient, but with more versatile mouth feels, with more delicate craft and totally different taste with the original version, which reflected his creativity.

JE KITCHEN

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

The influence of time and working in Copenhagen, the idea to present his dishes is more like a Nordic style that is inspired by nature and local culture. In most of his dishes, he likes to use vibrant leaves and edible flowers with some green oils, as well as some components such as hay, stones and mussel shells to emulate the scenes of nature, or use orderly arranged pieces of fruit or vegetables to show the beauty of regularity. He presents his dishes as a reflection of his emotion to family love. For example, the cheese plate in his set menu called “gorgonzola, stone” it is visually half white and half black which is made with some molecular gastronomy skills, inspired by the color of his beloved pet, a Chihuahua dog with black and white spots. As his autumn menu coming soon, he wants to add more local elements to make local guests feel interesting and introduce foreign guests to some diet culture of Taiwan, and chooses a very popular Taiwanese street food called “Wheel pie” to present his dish. It is a small round shaped pie with different kinds of filling inside, normally red bean puree and custard, so it’s also called red bean pie usually. He uses Danish Aebleskiver (a kind of pancake ball) dough to make the crust, filled with foie gras, pickled elderflower and ginger. The wheel pies in JE kitchen will be sent on the table in a Kraft paper wrap, just like how they are sold by street snack vendors.

When asked about the ingredients that inspire him and how he selects his ingredients… “I am always looking for special ingredients that may match or elevate the produce that people are familiar with, to achieve the balance of innovation and popularity.

Currently I am trying to explore the usage of some special ingredients from traditional Taiwanese culture. For example, I am using cured licorice lemon to pair with oyster in the coming autumn menu. Cured licorice lemon is kind like preserved or candied fruit, but it has components which are benefit to relieving cough and reducing sputum, as well as moderating the chance of heat stroke. It’s not only casual food but also has some treatment efficacy according to Chinese medical theory. There are many ingredients similar to cured licorice lemon in Taiwanese diet culture with very unique tastes, and I hope I could explore more and create some stylish dishes with them.”

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GORGONZOLA STONE

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

MUSSELS, QUINOA AND THYME

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CHICKEN, ONION, AND FERMENTED MUSHROOM

WG MAGAZINE

No matter how creative an idea is, if it couldn’t be executed well without sufficient techniques...

In Constant’s opinion, techniques is prior to creativity and produce as nowadays, most of cooking techniques have been explained scientifically and recorded systematically, while the transformation of knowledge is also boundless. Therefore, to comprehensively construct culinary skill set became more and more fundamental to chefs. While the situation quality of produces always varies since they are not artificial products, technique is the only thing a chef is able to hundred percent handle. Besides, no matter how creative an idea is, if it couldn’t be executed well without sufficient techniques.

He still thinks far more behind the definition of success by himself. As an Asian chef doing western cuisine, he needs to work hard and make his efforts and talent to be seen.

There are still lots of goals for him to pursue, such as a Michelin star, title in the 50 Best Restaurants. Beyond those general honors chefs can have, and he promised his family to make significant achievements to prove the decision he made choosing a culinary career was correct, and this is the ultimate reason what keeps him motivated.

Ultimately, passion is the answer to every successful person who is able to stay on top at any industry, and he is glad that he found his passion very early and decided to be a fine dining chef, “I’ve told myself it’s a tough path and I need to contribute all of myself to achieve my goal and be outstanding. I applied for jobs around the world with top restaurants with different styles, brought hundreds of cookbook, joined the activities of the industry frequently, and even at lunch time, I am used to check my phone to follow the latest culinary information.

Overall, just to do everything I can to make sure I am beyond the trend, and it’s not difficult with enough passion.”

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CONSTANT CHEUNG

His advice to Taiwanese chefs who are going to choose western cuisine as their career path. “I think the culture of western cuisine emphasizes more on knowledge, creativity, team work, scientific operation, and even the chef’s personal charisma. The glamorous image of being a chef consists of numerous responsibilities and efforts. Besides working diligently in the kitchen, a chef has to manage a team, to design a menu, to control the cost and even be responsible to the revenue of the restaurant, and catch up the latest culinary trend. Particularly, the average level of western cuisine in Taiwan is still far behind, so it’s better for a chef to spend a certain amount of time and economic cost to visit top restaurants abroad.

It’s never an easy job and you need to keep improve and motivate yourself with lots of effort. So I think someone wants to be a successful chef, they need to understand the essence of this job practically, systematically build up the necessary skills, and the most important thing is to ask yourself if you have enough passion or not?

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CUCUMBER,WHITE CHOCOLATE AND DILL

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

Inspired by Cape Town

Born to parents who were Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, Veronica grew up in a small farm town of Wellington in Boland, Western Cape. As a child she would go to Madeira with her mother every year to visit family, she loved those holidays! This travel bug at 10 used to get her excited about going to the airport as Madeira was far more cosmopolitan than Wellington, and the amazing hotels and restaurants there that sparked her interest in hospitality. She believed that if she had a career in hospitality, it would have to be that she should be able to travel and this eventually became her goal. She wanted to be a traveller and wanted to be able to go anywhere and work.

Cooking was a hobby that she enjoyed and this changed the day she walked into The Victoria and Alfred Hotel as a waitress in 1997. She landed a summer job in Cape Town and was completely inspired by how a proper restaurant kitchen operated.

Intrigued at how a brigade of chefs came together and ensured that food became a work of art. To say, she fell in love would be an understatement and hotel management was no longer an option but becoming a chef was now her goal.

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“The first lesson any professional chef needs to learn is consistency.

You have to be able to make the same dish over and over again exactly the same”

After studying business at Stellenbosch University, she took another holiday job in 1999 at The Mount Nelson Hotel and that’s where she began her culinary career. She was fortunate enough to be chosen as a culinary apprentice and there was no looking back, and fond memories of her time as an apprentice.

She honed her culinary skills with Garth Stroebel and then went on to work in some of the best kitchens in the UK, France and in South Africa.

Garth was the first person she ever called chef, Garth saw her passion, potential and helped start her career. Working for him changed the course of her life. He set her on her path and working with him opened several doors for her.

Even during her training, she was sent to Portugal to work at Quinta do Lago in the Algarve and this was a wonderful learning curve for her.

Her internship at the Mount Nelson Hotel had incredible opportunities and several young people still learning the profession hands on techniques in the same kitchen. Many of the chefs she worked with and met there are doing amazing work in the South Africa.

In the late 90s early 2000, Garth was the pioneer of modern South African cooking. When she started working with him, her culinary background was not in any way refined or defined. She could cook recipes out of women’s magazines and had done a few cooking competitions at school but in no way had she cooked professionally. Garth taught her to think as a professional, to look at a dish and to work out how to prepare it in a beautiful, consistent manner. “The first lesson any professional chef needs to learn is consistency. You have to be able to make the same dish over and over again exactly the same.” That was her first lesson.

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

I truly do love to cook and that cooking is ultimately my first passion...

After 5 years being the Executive Chef at Ellerman House, a trip was organised by Relais & Châteaux to France at Jacques Chibois’ La Bastide Saint-Antoine. It was great for her to see how other chefs run their kitchens. Veronica adds “To visit and work in another chef’s kitchen after running your own allows you to take a step back and view the systems from the staff point of view. While you are running a kitchen you often don’t see past budgets and food costs but working a La Bastide reminded me that I truly do love to cook and that cooking is ultimately my first passion.” Jacques Chibois is a passionate goal driven chef who taught her to have a singular vision.

With an amazing passion and love for La Bastide, he focuses on ensuring that his vision is singular.

Jacques Chibois showed her the French flair at its best, with sourcing local ingredients as he use to go to the markets around Grasse himself and choose the best ingredients. His teaching taught her to use the finest and freshest ingredients to render a refined product.

Mentors… it would have to be Garth Stroebel and Tim Cumming, her former GM of Ellerman House. Veronica believes Garth is one of the best hotel chefs in the country and he is still her teacher and she still calls him Chef. To this day she can speak to him and ask his advice, during the planning of The Silo kitchen she was able to speak to him and seek advice which was very helpful and relevant. While Tim taught her the finesse and how to refine her cooking style. He taught her how to adapt to guest needs and took her out from behind the stoves and taught her that she was more than a cook - an ambassador of cuisine and ultimately Ellerman House.

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

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“I don’t like clutter. I am a very practical person who hates waste.

My food needs to be minimalist - each item on the plate has a purpose, be it flavour or texture”

WG catches up with Veronica Canha-Hibbert…

Your cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance…

It takes practice, accepting feedback and being critical. You can’t have an ego when it comes to creating a dish. You have to share your vision with your team and allow everyone to have an opinion. You also need to be confident enough in your idea not to take every opinion to heart.

I don’t like to clutter a plate and will only include elements that need to be there, I won’t add unnecessary items. For me flavour is more important than appearance. I’m not going add colour just for colour. I will only add something to a dish if it adds value to the dish.

Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a dish, the inspiration…

My food philosophy is largely based on the fact that I don’t like clutter. I am a very practical person who hates waste. My food needs to be minimalist - each item on the plate has a purpose, be it flavour or texture. Less to me is always more and that is why it’s imperative that any item placed on the plate is perfectly prepared. I don’t want to hide imperfections with unnecessary additions.

There is always a starting point – a season or a specific item.

Then I do the homework, I research the item or look at what is in season. I have a thing for cookbooks and I love reading about food and preparation techniques. I also like reading about other chefs and seeing their take on the item and how they prepare it. Once I have a few ideas I prepare the dish and then it time for the cull. I like to start with a lot and start stripping the dish down to what I want.

Inspiration – it sometimes it’s a guest request, an amazing item that a supplier shows me, or a bottle of wine. Again I am a practical person!

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

“As a Chef I have this romantic idea that I am an artist who has boundless creativity, but practically I am more a technician”

Ingredients that inspire you, favourite ingredients and ingredients you were not able to master…

Fresh is best. Local is always my first choice. Cape Town and the Western Cape are wonderful as we have great produce and wonderful artisanal farmers who grow small batch items.

I am lucky enough to have worked with many of these farmers and to have a great relationship with them so when they are growing new exciting items and I am lucky to get my choice of fresh ingredients.

Herbs, lemon, garlic and butter – I love to finish a dish with a fresh squeeze of lemon. Herbs and garlic are added to the pan when sealing meats or fish. I love butter and believe you should always add love to your dishes…

Octopus – one of the first things I tried to cook and I am still sad about how that turned out! I tried it again but it doesn’t help that I don’t enjoy the taste or texture of it myself so I am totally biased.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

The sous vide, I like layering flavours. It’s a gentle cooking technique and adds lots of flavour and ensures that the meat is tender. When sous viding vegetables you can add so much flavour without losing texture and vitamins. It’s important that the food we serve is nutritious.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

As a Chef I have this romantic idea that I am an artist who has boundless creativity, but practically I am more a technician.

So I would say technique. I have practiced and worked hard to learn as much as I can about the “how to”. I enjoy reading about and learning new ways to prepare items, researching new ways of presenting the same ingredients.

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

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“I’m very much inspired

by Cape Town and South Africa and this translates into the menu”

Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

My team – the people around me. I love throwing an idea around and having my chefs work with me to bring it out.

For me being a chef means being a part of something and creating beautiful cuisine together. I’m also very much inspired by Cape Town and South Africa and this translates into the menu.

Your earliest food memory, flavors from your childhood can you not live without…

I grew up in a Portuguese household, which meant I grew up eating tomato based dishes, lots of garlic, bay leaves, red wine and olive oil. One of my most vivid food memories was with my parents in Madeira and eating “frango assado & bolo de caco” (roast chicken and garlic flat bread). It was simple and warm and it reminds me of family and being home. I am a parent now and have my own children, and I will always have garlic, butter, olive oil and red wine in my kitchen.

What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

My children. I spend a lot of time at work and I am not always able to be at every school event, so I want to make sure that my work is worth the sacrifice. I want my children to be proud of their mum. I love taking them to work and showing them what I do. They’ve grown up with various hotel influences.

Both Craig (my husband is the Executive Pastry Chef at The Belmond Mount Nelson) and I have always taken them to show them our kitchens.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

I read cookbooks all the time and watch Netflix documentaries (Chefs Table | Mind of Chef| Someone please feed Phil).

Being married to a chef we are constantly talking about food, kitchens and cooking. I have a great team of sous chefs who are as passionate as I am about our profession so we always talk share ideas and try out new things. To stay ahead it’s so important not to be scared to fail. You will never accomplish something unless you try!

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VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

The world has become smaller, very cliché I know but the idea of a rigid singular type of cuisine is history. After the craziness of fusion died down there was an exchange of ideas. You were able to use Asian cooking techniques, Mediterranean ingredients and Nordic styles together without any confusion. Technology has also changed the game – paco jets, thermomix, etc have made it much easier for us to prepare dishes as well as serving ingredients in different forms i.e. ash, foam, gels etc Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

A young person who is contemplating becoming a chef needs to decide what they want - do they want a TV show, a book deal or do they want to cook. Being a chef is a hard career choice. You work horrid hours in a hot, unrelenting environment and you will probably not be famous, you will be tired! While your family is having Christmas dinner and celebrating New Year’s Eve you will be working. But as a chef you will be able to travel the world, meet the most amazing people, and work with people who are so different to you yet share such passionate common ground.

Your brigade will become your family and if you are lucky you will find your tribe and you will never look back.

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUSTRAS AND PHOEBE OVIEDO

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUTRAS PHOEBE OVIEDO

hefs typically get their own profile introduction, but for newly appointed Head Chef Oliver Truesdale-Jutras and Sous Chef Phoebe Oviedo at Open Farm Community, it would be improper to introduce the inseparable duo, talking about one without the other. The dynamic duo has taken over the kitchen leadership at Open Farm Community since April 2018 to revitalize the beautiful Dempsey urban garden and restaurant.

Although the couple schooled and apprenticed separately in two vastly different regions of Canada; Oliver in Vancouver at C Restaurant, and Phoebe in Ottawa at Navarra; the duo first met while working together in Ottawa at Domus restaurant, a local icon and forerunner to the farm-to-table concept, which has since closed. The duo continues the tradition evident in their approach at Open Farm Community today.

Open Farm Community

The two chefs decided to step out of their homeland to explore new opportunities, and after a brief stint in San Francisco, they found home in Australia. Awed by the productivity of the winterless landscape and tight relationships between growers and restaurants, the pair had the opportunity to work at some of the most well-known Sydney institutions.

Before arriving in Singapore, the pair were running a roving pop-up restaurant, Stovetrotter, which gave them the opportunity to visit countries such as Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Holland, Sri Lanka, and Canada, accumulating a wealth of technical knowledge and ingredients from around the globe.

Embodying the true spirit of Open Farm Community, the duo hopes to connect people with their food, educating them about its origins and encourage locals to explore their surroundings.

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUSTRAS AND PHOEBE OVIEDO

“Our food can be deceptively simple looking but it’s usually the product of a fairly lengthy process”

WG catches up with Oliver Truesdale-Jutras and Phoebe Oviedo…

How did you find your way into the culinary field?

For both of us it’s in the blood. My father was a chef in Toronto and owned his own catering company in Ottawa before retiring a few years ago. Though I was a really picky eater growing up, both my parents were very accommodating and sort of embodied the spirit of hospitality. I initially wasn’t at all interested in cooking but once I started working as a dishwasher and then doing a bit of prep in kitchens I realized it was something I could be really passionate about and use as a means of expression as well.

SWEET POTATO TORTELLINI

Phoebe’s Mother is equally an amazing cook and being from a huge family, she is a natural at creating food. She still occasionally gets catering gigs in Ottawa and always blows everyone away with a wide variety of specialties. Ask for the empanadas. Trust me.

Your menu is all about local produce and rediscovering ingredients, a creative driven cuisine which in perfect harmony local produce…

Depends on the plate. Each product calls for certain things.

Starch needs fat, fat needs acid, acidity for sweetness etc.

When we discover something new we try and figure out the best way we can serve it and then strip things away until it’s just the essentials. Our food can be deceptively simple looking but it’s usually the product of a fairly lengthy process.

Almost every dish we have on the menu will slowly evolve into something familiar but totally different. This has as much to do with our drive to be creative as it does with our want to keep rediscovering the same ingredients over and over. I don’t believe in a perfect dish, so continued refinement and change is not only exciting but keeps life engaging and interesting.

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WATERMELON

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CORN & COCONUT CHOWDER

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CITRUS CURED MACKEREL

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“Our shared philosophy is one that puts ethics on par with presentation and flavor for a triple bottom line”

Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a dish…

Our shared philosophy is one that puts ethics on par with presentation and flavor for a triple bottom line. Though we certainly have room for improvement in every facet of our cooking, we believe that those three things have to improve together. If you focus solely on presentation, flavor always suffers, if you focus solely on flavor, typically ethics go out the window, and being too uniquely focused on ethics often neglects the palate or the plate. It’s another balancing act that we force ourselves into but I believe it’s a healthy one and more than that, we consider it very important and unique as an aspect of our cooking: that we try and do so sustainably while still maintaining quality and presentability.

It’s also extraordinarily difficult and a source of a lot of our headaches. For new dishes, it could be anything. Sometimes it’s an available technique, sometimes a new ingredient, sometimes a hawker stall or a work of art or a walk in the garden. Inspiration is a finicky thing. We do tend to follow a sort of guideline in potential dishes we come up before letting them approach reality though.

CHICKEN AND THE EGG

Is this dish meaningful in some way? Are the ingredients local? Are the ingredients responsibly sourced? What is the impact of sourcing these ingredients? Does the dish fit in our restaurant? Is there a reason it should be in the restaurant?

After these criteria, we are left with maybe 1/10th of the dishes we would come up with as a whole. That’s why it’s much easier to find inspiration by actually going out to find the ingredients and meet the people growing them. That way our questions are mostly answered and it remains simply a question of dressing the ingredient up the right way.

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUSTRAS AND PHOEBE OVIEDO

Oliver and Phoebe decided to step out to explore new opportunities, taking over Open Farm Community to revitalize the beautiful Dempsey urban garden and restaurant in Singapore...

Oliver, you honed your culinary skills at Quay… how did this help you are as a chef today?

Quay is a great restaurant. It was the first kitchen I’ve ever worked in doing fine food on that scale and was a great learning experience. Chef Pete Gilmore is at once very kind and still demanding, and though he was slowly ramping up other projects during my tenure at Quay, he would still come tinker with new dishes and introduce them to the kitchen. His real impact on me was probably the importance of texture.

Quay helped me appreciate some subtleties of texture I was previously unfamiliar with; and introduced me to the vital nature of including the right types of textural contrast in dishes.

It’s also where I worked with Sam Aisbett and Diego from Whitegrass here in Singapore, so the experience gave me friends all over the place as well and I couldn’t be happier to reunite with them anywhere I land.

Phoebe, tell us about your experience working with Neil Perry…

THAI ASPARAGUS SALAD

Chef Perry is great. I was fortunate enough to work at the old Rockpool on Circular Quay and witness the rebirth to Rockpool on George during my time there, so I got to see him in the process of opening a new restaurant (he has a bit of experience in doing this). The attention to detail from both him and Phil Wood, who was Head Chef when I was there, is immense and impressive. Every tiny touch matters, everything has its place. Now running our own kitchen, I can see how hard it is to constantly be on top of everything like that, and I’m even more impressed by Rockpool in hindsight. Their dedication inspires me to try and keep improving little things every day, even if they don’t always catch on right away.

In terms of food I’d have to echo texture, which I think both Chef Gilmore and Chef Perry get from the East Asian influences in their food. Crispy crunchy chewy gooey. Every way to eat something is an exciting tool in the kitchen. It’s great and helped shape my appreciation for a bit of a journey while eating, experiencing something rather than simply tasting it.

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BARRAMUNDI

HAMACHI

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You both did stints, pop-ups around the world, tell us about OFC and what makes it different from the pop-up’s you have done before…

Well the most marked difference is the permanence here.

One of the major undertakings we did upon our taking management of OFC was planning the garden reconstruction and direction. With a pop-up, you are able to do some short term planning ahead, but the 3-4-month window isn’t usually an option. Here we can plan to change the menu slowly instead of abruptly, do more refining of dishes over time instead of just one shot, and form partnerships that benefit the restaurant now and will continue to in the long-term.

Essentially, we can invest time and energy into projects far down the line. We started planning our Christmas menus in July. That sort of foresight is generally impossible with a popup.

Apart from that, Singapore is the first experience I’ve personally had with a lot of tropical product. We did a lot of consulting and hospitality design work in Sri Lanka, but our exposure to food professionally was kind of limited, so we didn’t get to do much in depth exploration of ingredients. Here we can start to play with various local products in all their stages and see what suits what purpose best. It’s invigorating.

FERMENTED BLACK BEAN

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUSTRAS AND PHOEBE OVIEDO

When Phoebe first introduced me to Kare-Kare (a Filipino stew based on oxtail and peanut puree) I was just floored...

Ingredients that inspire you both, your favourite ingredients and ingredients that your unable to master…

Currently playing with some seeds from some familiar plants – Jackfruit, Lotus, Ginko. We like to hit up markets – Chinatown, Tekka, even getting out to visit our purveyors in Pasir Panjang and seeing the trucks coming in from Malaysia and Thailand is a really great way to expose ourselves to new and exciting stuff.

That’s like picking between children! New fish are always exciting and we’re trying to play a lot more with tropical fruits in various stages of development. Everyone thinks of mangoes and papayas as these juicy, sweet fruits but when they are unripe they pack a punch of acidity and have an intriguing texture. Green Jackfruit comes out like pulled pork in curry treatments. Green Bananas for chips and chutney etc.

WING BEANS

We’ve also been trying (no major success yet) to replicate Goraka, which is a Sri Lankan treatment of fruit which is processed into a black paste through fermentation. It’s quite amazing but we’ve never been exposed to the process outside of some less than helpful mentions in some literature etc., so we are kind of blindly taking swipes at it.

I won’t say unable to master, but Durian has such a crowd splitting effect that we decided not to include it in our menu from the go here even though it’s so important culturally and we personally both enjoy it. One of our first services, a party brought in a cake from outside and no one blinked an eye until they cut it open and ruined the dining experience of all the tables around them. Fragrant Durian cake, just takes over a room.

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LAKSA

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SPICED BRAISED BEEF CHEEKS

SMOKED CHICKEN “CAESAR”

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Creativity enables techniques and products , these two facets of cooking without creativity is doable, maybe even common...

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

Getting the texture right on a chawanmushi is a uniquely satisfying experience. In terms of equipment I think the most essential piece of more modern machinery to our kitchen is the combi-oven. It’s not anything we couldn’t accomplish with other methods, but have a steam chamber that can also roast when necessary just eases so many processes in the kitchen that I really feel it’s essential to our enterprise.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Gun to my head to choose one I’ll take Creativity 10 times out of 10. Creativity enables techniques and products, as well as the marriage of the two. Those two facets of cooking without creativity is doable, maybe even common, but for me it wouldn’t be personally fulfilling in the slightest.

Greatest influence in the kitchen…

At this point, probably reality. OFC is a very interesting line to walk because all at once you have weekday diners (people who come in knowing the concept, well-educated and savvy eaters), coupled with a huge brunch crowd of families and young sustainably minded people, as well as an unbelievable amount of weddings and events, so our big thing at the moment is balancing our ambition with the necessities of all of these different crowds and coming up with options and ideas that can satisfy all our guest. They are the reason we do this line of work and we never want to lose sight of that.

What keeps you both motivated?

I think right now we are most motivated by trying to create a good restaurant for guests and staff which puts out great food at good value but does it without hurting the planet for future generations. It’s another very acute balancing act.

We have to make money but use appropriate products and educate without imposing, we have to be financially, ethically and environmentally sustainable and drive ourselves to continually improve on those facets of the restaurant which aren’t up to standards in one or more of those departments.

It seems like every time we figure some step out another three things need doing to bring it in line. It’s like a big puzzle and we’re slowly getting all the edges together before we start work on the middle.

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OLIVER TRUESDALE-JUSTRAS AND PHOEBE OVIEDO

When Phoebe first introduced me to Kare-Kare (a Filipino stew based on oxtail and peanut puree) I was just floored...

Earliest food memory and flavors from your childhood that you can’t live without...

It would be eating mint. We had a big spearmint bush out back of my house growing up and I remember that icy cool menthol assault vividly. My ingredient is peanut butter. I’m a sucker for it. More on the raw pure nuts train these days but even a cheap jar of Jif will do in a pinch. When Phoebe first introduced me to Kare-Kare (a Filipino stew based on oxtail and peanut puree) I was just floored. How had I never done this before?

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

I think more knowledge on the absolute basics is a huge step forward for cooks. Across the world the access to the correct information is really easy to come by so there is less governance of idle myth and culinary rumors in kitchens now. There is some charm that dies with that, but it’s a price I’ll gladly pay to not eat overcooked meat or bland, dead vegetables when I go out to eat.

NIGHT OF PASSION

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Everyone tells you it’s hard, but it’s harder than you think it will be. Trust me. I’m doing this interview at 2 am on a Saturday night because it’s the only time I get to myself, I still smell like Taro from an hour ago when I was sweating over a pot full, and I’m back at the restaurant in 6 short hours. It’s not a career that everyone can handle, but if you get touched somewhere deep from seeing someone smile eating your food when they don’t know you can see them, you’ll probably be right next to me some Saturday in the future sweating it out and loving every bit of it.

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LIME IN THE COCONUT

THAI MILK TEA

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ELIE KIWONDO

O ELIE KIWONDO

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Listen to experience but let no one take over your dream, over your inspiration.

Once you get there, consider those who appear smaller and respect the greater...

riginally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Elie moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 2014 for better prospects at the age of 18 as he wanted to study IT but due to the lack of finances he could not pursue his IT dreams and had to find work in order to pay his tuition fees. With a sick father and the family not in a good financial position finding work was the priority. With his sister working in a restaurant, Elie found work as a dish washer and luck had it he was promoted to the filleting section where he tasks was stock control, fillet different types of fish and portion them. Showing promise, two months later he was promoted to the restaurants sushi bar where he was trained by 2 sushi chefs.

His culinary journey began with training as a sushi chef, the passion and love for the cuisine started to grow on him, he decided that he required to master this culinary art and had to find a sushi school but unfortunately could not find one.

Trying to enroll in culinary courses was an issue due to high tuition fees which he found it difficult. “I was telling myself that being rejected due to money will only make me stronger, it is the passion, love that will allow me to make it even without a diploma� adds Elie. He committed himself with the resources he had and started expressing himself through his dishes.

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ELIE KIWONDO

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Sushi is like a mathematic formula, where everything added to sushi-meshi gives you the end result = sushi...

It’s all about Elie getting his sushi-meshi right, people pay more attention and focus on the topping than the sushimeshi which brings the most flavors. The taste of sushi mainly depends on the sushi meshi and not the topping. His focus on the shari and sushi-zu as this is where he brings out the uniqueness of his dishes and the rest is to balance the flavors of the fish and other ingredients he uses. It all about a fusion of flavors and combining local and Japanese ingredients.

Sushi is like a mathematic formula for Elie, where everything added to sushi-meshi gives you the end result – sushi. “Sushi chefs are artists, expressing their imagination and creativity though their dishes. My dishes are a three step creation – sushi is every edible ingredient with sushi-meshi. The next is I picture the type or style and final taste of the dish by playing with the flavors in my mind, memorizing the taste and once this is done then you need to resolve the mathematical problem which is sushi=sushimeshi+neta, this is my formula which works. The third step is the inspiration, I get inspired after meditating, exploring and it helps me to create new sushi recipes” adds Elie.

Late 2014, Elie started Kiwondo’s Sushi, after been rejected from college he started to promote himself as private sushi chef. He had his first client after 4 months and she was the only one he had in that year. He was not discouraged after that dry year but motivated. With his father passing away and not able to travel back home to see his father for the last time, he promised himself that he would hold his father’s name high and with that he changed the name from Kiwondo’s to Kiwondo Private Sushi Chefs. “I sacrificed a lot for my company as I was the only source of income. I worked full time and part time at restaurants, trying to raise money and buy what the company required. I was doing it with joy as I knew the future will be bright and inspiring. The company showed growth in 2017 and I changed the name to Kiwondo Private Sushi Chefs. Kiwondo is my father’s name and this is a promise I made. I am proud to say that till date I have had zero complains since my first customer” says Elie.

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Elie has a team of highly trained sushi chefs who are confidence, talented and love what they do. He gives his chefs the opportunity to show off their skills. It’s all about the freshness and quality of the ingredients. For him quality ingredients are the ones that constitute a dish. Inspired with almas caviar and Norwegian salmon, he loves working with rice paper for his rolls and sushi-zu which is one of his favorite ingredient. “It is not easy for a sushi chef to make an uramaki using the rice paper and the taste of your sushi zu determines your unique taste of sushi. This complex and challenge with these two ingredients is what I like the most: says Elie.

The challenges he faces every day has been one of his greatest influences, every time he enters a kitchen he needs to impress his clients and create a brilliant spread. The fact that people thought that money would be a barrier between him and the kitchen, they are wrong as it only motivates him.

He knew he was born to cook and happy to discover it when he came to South Africa. He knows where he is going and it makes him stronger and the endorsements from his guest is all the good reasons for Elie to make it big.

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“I believe that there is no kind of boundaries or limits otherwise we would never have new dishes, we would have a series of repetitions of what we have seen and ate over and over….”

Elie Kiwondo

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When asked about his food memories as a child… “I can’t live without Pap and a home soup called Musaka. It’s made out of fresh palm juice and that taste never left me since I had it for the first time and I love it.”

Elie sees cuisine changed in the last years, with the past he knew that he could only get the best cuisine originating from a chefs own country which is not the case today. He doesn’t refute that being a native of a country where ones cuisine originates might give you more knowledge of that cuisine’s history. But when it comes to flavors we do not see no race or nationality or age but the taste.

His advice to young chefs “First of all, before you go anywhere further, make sure you love what you are doing and that you are not doing it because someone does it or did great but do it because you love it and that’s your passion. Challenges will help you grow, if there’s none where you are, stand up and find some.”

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